Trump: Demoted New York Times editor should have been fired

President Trump on Thursday suggested The New York Times did not go far enough in demoting one of its editors earlier this week, though it was unclear if he was aware of the reason for the punishment.

Trump tweeted about the demotion of Jonathan Weisman, the deputy Washington editor for the Times, days after the newspaper detailed the decision following controversial tweets criticizing Democrats.

Wow! The Deputy Editor of the Failing New York Times was just demoted. Should have been Fired! Totally biased and inaccurate reporting. The paper is a Fraud, Zero Credibility. Fake News takes another hit, but this time a big one!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 15, 2019

While the demotion was announced Tuesday, Trump’s tweet came a short time after a Fox News segment in which New York Post columnist Mike Goodwin weighed in on the personnel decision and was also critical of the newspaper’s coverage of the president.

{mosads}Trump frequently rails against the Times, lashing out at individual reporters and describing coverage he dislikes as “fake news.” He has also described the newspaper as the “enemy of the people,” despite warnings from its publisher and others about the dangers of the term.

Weisman’s demotion came after a series of social media controversies.

Last month, he deleted a tweet suggesting that saying Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.) were from the Midwest was “like saying @RepLloydDoggett (D-Austin) is from Texas or @repjohnlewis (D-Atlanta) is from the Deep South.”

The tweet drew widespread backlash from other Democrats and observers who accused Weisman of racism. 

Weisman also faced criticism last week after saying that the organization Justice Democrats was backing “another primary challenger trying to unseat an African American,” specifically Morgan Harper against Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio). Harper responded that she is also black.

The editor faced additional backlash after author Roxane Gay accused him of emailing her after she mocked the tweets, telling her that she owed him an “enormous apology” for accusing him of racism and incompetence.

“Jonathan Weisman met with [Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet] today and apologized for his recent serious lapses in judgment. As a consequence of his actions, he has been demoted and will no longer be overseeing the team that covers Congress or be active on social media. We don’t typically discuss personnel matters but we’re doing so in this instance with Jonathan’s knowledge,” a Times spokesperson said in a Tuesday statement to The Hill.