The Chicago Sun-Times wants you to believe that “Richard Nixon defenders” and conservative media outlets wrongly claimed that Mayor Brandon Johnson blamed Richard Nixon for Chicago violence. That’s in a Wednesday “fact check” by the Sun-Times. The Sun-Times cites a post by The Blaze on Twitter (X) as the origin of the Nixon story. “Other conservative outlets” then picked up the story, claims the Sun-Times
In fact, “Johnson didn’t blame Nixon for violence in Chicago,” claims the Sun-Times. “The mayor’s only mention of Nixon came after reflecting on President Johnson’s war on poverty, says the Sun-Times, citing what Johnson said: “Black death has been unfortunately accepted in this country for a very long time. We had a chance 60 years ago to get at the root causes and people mocked President Johnson, and we ended up with Richard Nixon.”
That sure as heck is blaming Nixon. No, Johnson didn’t blame only Nixon and, yes, the context was about the war on poverty. But Johnson clearly was saying Nixon was partly to blame. If Johnson blames somebody in part it’s fair to write that he blamed that somebody.
And it wasn’t only “Nixon defenders” and “conservative outlets” who wrote it that way. A Newsweek story is headlined, “Chicago Mayor Blames Richard Nixon as Over 100 People Shot at Weekend.” A CWB Chicago headline read, “Mayor blames Richard Nixon for Chicago’s intractable violence.” We wrote our headline on it similarly.
Nor did The Blaze serve as the basis for the whole dustup, as the Sun-Times claims. The tweet by The Blaze that the Sun-Times cited was posted at 9:24 PM on July 8. But the quote from Johnson appeared in many tweets I saw long before that. Almost 12 hours earlier, for example, a Chicago Tribune reporter had tweeted it out.
What should be criticized in coverage of Johnson’s press conference where he made the comment is that the Sun-Times entirely purged the Nixon comment from its story. Same, by the way, for the Chicago Tribune’s story on the press conference and all of the rest of Chicago’s media. No mention of the Nixon thing at all.
The Sun-Times story was written by its “Audience Engagement Specialist.” You’d think folks in the left’s media tasked that way would have figured out long ago that insulting centrists and conservatives is no way to expand their audience. In fact, maybe it’s all readers who see through this kind of bias. Look at the replies on X to the Sun-Times’ post of its fact check article. Seventy-two of them and counting, and they are all critical.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Johnson said: “Black death has been unfortunately accepted in this country for a very long time.”
When I read this I initially thought he was talking about “The Black Death,” aka bubonic plague, a medieval disease that was recently diagnosed in someone in Colorado.
The only good use for the Sun-Times is during a toilet paper shortage.
Brandon Johnson AKA Joliet ‘Jake’ Blues –
Can’t think of one thing this BJ has been right about……….useless
Chicago Mayor Blames Spike In Violence On 9th Century Chinese Monks Who Invented Gunpowder | Babylon Bee
As readers & subscribers flee, ST/ WBEZ (Chicago Public Media) further solidifies it’s ever shrinking leftie base.
The Sun Times is just a tool of the leftist unions, national public radio and WTTW. Seems like the only people reading it are 90 year old great grandmothers who are still living in its heydays of the 1960’s and 70’s.
The author, Katie Anthony, is an “Audience Engagement Specialist“
Is that job title for the person holding up signs saying Applause/Sigh/Laugh/Clap/etc to get the audience involved?
While admittedly better looking, Katie Anthony is still the most worthless hack of a “journalist” this city has seen since Kelly Bauer.
The anthem of the progressive Left Democrats should be Rammstein’s ‘Armee der Tristen’ (Army of the Dreary) My apologies to Rammstein, but it seems to fit progressives.
Doesn’t surprise me, I don’t expect much from the Sun-Times – this is the caliber of their reporting.