A.G. Sulzberger is unfit to run The New York Times as latest op-ed spreads misinformation

‘Caution: Those with sensitive stomachs or respect for the truth should stop here.”That’s the warning label The Washington Post should have slapped on a recent essay.Unfortunately, it didn’t and let the writer gas on as if his fabulist claims were grounded in reality.The op-ed was doubly dispiriting because, although it appeared in The Washington Post, it was written by the publisher of The New York Times.

Both outlets likely thought the joint imprimatur would increase the audience and impact.Instead, the resulting flop magnifies their effort to spread misinformation.Both outlets apparently still think Americans are foolish enough to trust Big Media to tell them the truth.Author A.G.

Sulzberger’s effort to inflate what was little more than another vicious attack on Donald Trump into a rallying cry for press independence is noteworthy for all the wrong reasons.His farrago of leftist partisanship, self-aggrandizement and fearmongering comes disguised as an appeal for freedom of the press.The transparent motive gives readers yet another reason to search elsewhere for facts and fairness.Of course, nobody can argue with such truths as “The flow of trustworthy news and information is critical to a free, secure and prosperous nation.” Or the claim that “defense of the free press has been a point of rare bipartisan consensus throughout the nation’s history.”The author wraps his argument in red, white and blue by quoting President Ronald Reagan as saying, “There is no more essential ingredient than a free, strong, and independent press to our continued success in what the Founding Fathers called our ‘noble experiment’ in self-government.”Citing Reagan is an obvious tease to draw in conservatives and Republicans.

It’s also a fig leaf to cover the Big Lie about the Times built-in bias.It hasn’t endorsed a Republican for president since Dwight Eisenhower in 1956.Up and down the ballot, year in year out, no matter the office and the candidates...