Critics were baffled by a New York Times headline on Wednesday night that they said missed the mark compared to the report, which put a spotlight on former President Donald Trump's long-held belief in racehorse breeding theory — that strong genes result in superior people.
The paper of record noted that former President Donald Trump is "reviving" an "old habit" — "invoking his long-held fascination with genes and genetics" in the weeks before the election.
"For decades, including long before he became a political figure, Mr. Trump has been publicly obsessed with bloodlines and his stated belief that genetics are the best predictor of a person’s success," he said. "He has repeatedly commented on what he described as his, his family’s and his supporters’ good genes, and on others’ bad genes."
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The report noted that Trump told a conservative podcaster this week that he believes murder is hereditary.
"You know, now, a murderer, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now," said Trump.
While the Trump campaign tried to clarify that the former president was "clearly referring to murderers, not migrants," the comment drew widespread condemnation from Democrats, including Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, who called Trump's statement “vile, disturbing, hateful."
But it wasn't the article's reporting that caught social media's ire. It was the headline, which critics argued wasn't strong enough given the racially-charged report.
"In remarks about migrants, Donald Trump invoked his long-held fascination with genes and genetics," the Times headline read.
The headline was called out by the popular satirical "New York Times Pitchbot" account, which parodies headlines and article ideas from The New York Times.
"Hard to compete with this," the account wrote on X, attaching a screenshot of the headline.
"The sanewashing of Trump continues," wrote former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan.
"Trump’s practically a scientist!!!" exclaimed David Corn, Washington, D.C. bureau chief of Mother Jones.
"This New York Times headline makes it seem as if Trump has a deep intellectual curiosity about genetics instead of stating the obvious fact that he’s simply a racist," wrote Mark Jacob, former editor at The Chicago Tribune & Sun-Times.
"My god," replied foreign policy reporter Laura Rozen.
"Wow. That can’t be real, although I’m sure it is," lamented Paul Biedermann, an adjunct professor of design and comic art.
"JFC @nytimes. JFC," wrote actor Bradley Whitford, who played Josh Lyman, the White House deputy chief of staff, in the 1990s hit show "The West Wing."
