Critics on social media have demanded that The New York Times apologize for an op-ed that accused Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, former President Trump's running mate, of promoting “blood-and-soil nationalism.”
The piece, by New York Times op-ed columnist Jamel Bouie, was originally published Saturday under the headline “J.D. Vance's Blood-and-Soil Nationalism Takes Target.”
But after an outcry on social media, the Times changed the headline to “Shouldn't J.D. Vance Represent the Whole State of Ohio?” But Bowie's message remained, accusing Vance of preaching “blood-and-soil nationalism” and suggesting he would move beyond just a “war of words” against immigrants if elected vice president.
Online critics charged that the Times article incited violence against Vance, calling him a Nazi just two months after the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Vance's wife, Usha, is the daughter of Indian immigrants, and other X users and Vance campaigners pointed out that the couple are raising three mixed-race children.
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J.D. Vance's campaign slammed the New York Times opinion piece. (Getty Images)
“'Blood and Soil' @nytimes has degenerated to the point of essentially calling @JDVance a Nazi,” Republican strategist Andrew Surabian wrote, sharing a screenshot of the original headline. “Truly vile stuff from the supposed paper of record. If they have any sense of ethics they would retract this and apologize.”
“Just months after a psychopath tried to assassinate my father, the @nytimes is now openly trying to incite violence against @JDVance,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote to X.
“PS: JD is the father of three biracial children which makes this slur even more offensive!” the Republican presidential candidate's eldest son added.
“It is abhorrent that The New York Times would spew such vicious venom against a father of three biracial children, especially after there was an assassination attempt on President Trump just two months ago,” Taylor Van Kirk, national press secretary for Senator Vance, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Headlines like this will understandably leave many wondering whether the intent was to incite violence against Senator Vance. We sincerely hope that this is not the case, and that The Times will come to its senses and retract this nasty headline.”
“So now the Times is directly calling J.D. Vance a Nazi,” Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk wrote to his 3.4 million followers. “This is propaganda from the same administration that nearly assassinated President Trump.”
Fox News Digital reached out to The Times for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
In the Times article, a columnist took issue with Vance's comments about Springfield, Ohio, where residents have noted an increase in crime, unrest and car accidents since the start of the coronavirus pandemic due to a massive influx of about 20,000 Haitian immigrants into the small town of about 58,000 people.
Residents at the City Council meeting alleged that Haitians were killing and eating ducks in the park and keeping cats and dogs as pets — claims repeated by Vance and Trump on social media and at debates. Local officials said they had not received any reports of such incidents.
“What matters to Vance is who they are, where they come from, and what they look like,” Boui wrote of Haitian immigrants. “They don't belong on this land, he might say, so they don't belong. All Vance can do now to wage this war is use words. It's scary to think what would be possible if he could wield state power as well.”
Senator J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, boarded a plane after a campaign event in Greenville, North Carolina, on Saturday, September 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus slammed the New York Times article for attacking Vance, despite the rise in anti-Semitism under the Biden-Harris administration since the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel.
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“Under a Biden-Harris administration, Jewish Americans will no longer be able to safely wear their religious symbols in many parts of America; Jewish students will face harassment, threats and calls for genocide that are eerily reminiscent of the Holocaust. [permeate] Educational institutions. Israel faces an existential crisis, but Harris presents “both sides” of the argument at every turn. [sic] “She says,” Ortagus wrote, “our generation of Jews has experienced levels of anti-Semitism not seen since World War II. Yet the traditional media is trying to portray my friend @JDVance as somehow the problem for American Jews. I can tell you, in public and private, that he is fervently pro-Israel. Moreover, he does not condone the attacks on Jewish Americans that have flourished under the Biden-Harris Administration.”
Sen. J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha, before speaking at a rally at trucking company Team Hardinger on Aug. 28, 2024, in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
“I look forward to the vice presidential debate on October 1 where JD will thoroughly expose Walz and Harris on these issues,” she added.
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“It's disgusting that the media is spreading these absurd, violence-inciting claims about @JDVance just two months after @realDonaldTrump became president. “JD was almost assassinated,” Trump campaign adviser Alex Bruszewitz wrote on X. “And as a friendly reminder to the media and the left, JD is the father of three mixed race children. They should immediately retract and apologize to JD.”
