This week, the New York Times ran an op-ed from Sen. Tom Cotton in which he advocated for the president to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would authorize Trump to deploy active duty military troops across the country. Cotton argued that it would effectively quell police brutality protests, full-throatedly dismissing the fact that they have been overwhelmingly peaceful, with relatively small numbers violent bad actors.
In his op-ed , Cotton said the riots were "carnivals for the thrill-seeking rich," an "orgy of violence," and claimed they had nothing to do with the killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd by police.
The op-ed sparked outrage, from readers and staffers at the New York Times alike. In a news article written by New York Times reporters, it was revealed that James Benne, editorial page editor, never read the opinion piece, in which Cotton relies on factual errors to make his argument.
Should it have been published?
WGBH's Emily Rooney told Boston Public Radio on Friday that while the piece should have been more thoroughly vetted, Cotton's voice is an important one to hear.
"Part of me said, I was fascinated by this, because this is how a lot of people think, including Tom Cotton. This is the way the president thinks," she said. "Right or wrong, half of what the president says is wrong, but they believe this."
Cotton claims in the piece that hard-left groups have infiltrated the demonstrations and caused violence, but recent reporting from The Washington Post has shown that far-right white supremacist groups are the ones accelerating violence against people.
Rooney is host of Beat The Press on WGBH.
