Sen. Tom Cotton said Monday The New York Times asked him to write an op-ed explaining why active troops could be called in to curtail the violent riots over the past week, which sparked pushback and the resignation of the paper’s opinion editor.
Some reporters at the publication protested the op-ed, which explained that the Insurrection Act of 1807 would give the president the authority to order active-duty troops to cities where there was massive unrest as riots erupted following the death of George Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis over Memorial Day weekend.
The New York Times opinion editor James Bennet resigned over the weekend due to Mr. Cotton’s article, as many activists were outraged the military would be used to confront citizens. Mr. Bennet had served in that position since May of 2016.
Mr. Cotton told Fox News on Monday the publisher appeared unable to stand up to 20- and 30-year-olds in the newsroom, who he called a “mob” that demanded the op-ed be taken down from the website.
“Woke children apparently now run The New York Times newsroom,” the Arkansas Republican said.
Mr. Trump commented on the resignation Sunday evening on Twitter.
“Opinion Editor at @nytimes just walked out. That’s right, he quit over the excellent Op-Ed penned by our great Senator @TomCottonAR. TRANSPARENCY! The State of Arkansas is very proud of Tom. The New York Times is Fake News!!!” the president tweeted.
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