New York Times editor Jonathan Weisman received blowback Wednesday after doubting whether Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were from the Midwest.
Mr. Weisman responded to a tweet by Justice Democrats spokesperson Waleed Shahid, who used Ms. Omar and Ms. Tlaib’s support of policies like Medicare for All to counter former Sen. Claire McCaskill saying “free stuff from the government does not play well in the Midwest.”
Mr. Weisman responded: “Saying @RashidaTlaib (D-Detroit) and @IlhanMN (D-Minneapolis) are from the Midwest is like saying Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) is from Texas or @repjohnlewis (D-Atlanta) is from the Deep South. C’mon.”
Given that all the representatives mentioned were people of color except Mr. Doggett, many believed Mr. Weisman was saying they weren’t real Americans.
This included Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who called it a “Trump talking [point]” — as well as Ms. Omar.
“They literally are, &this comment is what erasure looks like. HIGH TURNOUT from DEEP BLUE SEATS &being competitive everywhere is the core of a winning strategy,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “It’s disturbing to see this Trump talking pt that dense, diverse communities “aren’t the REAL [America/Midwest/etc].”
Ms. Omar said, “this will certainly be news to people of Minnesota’s 5th District!”
Mr. Weisman deleted the tweet, saying he “did not adequately make” his point.
“Earlier this morning I tried to make a point about regional differences in politics between urban and rural areas. I deleted the tweets because I realize I did not adequately make my point,” he said.
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