The New York Times took issue with Republicans blaming Democrats for a rise in crime, calling GOP election ads “deceptive” and “racially divisive,” in its Tuesday coverage of the midterms.
Times reporters Lisa Lerer and Jonathan Weisman acknowledged spikes in crime remain a pressing concern for voters this November, but they claimed Republicans had “intensified” their focus to “capitalize on some voters’ fears about safety,” with campaign ads full of “violent imagery” and “sometimes deceptive or racially divisive messaging.”
“Some of the advertising contains thinly disguised appeals to racist fears, like grainy footage of Black Lives Matter protesters,” Lerer and Weisman wrote.
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“The full picture on crime rates is nuanced,” the journalists argued.
They went on to cite data from the Council on Criminal Justice, which found murder and gun assaults in major cities remain 40% higher than they were pre-pandemic, and robberies “posted double-digit increases.”
Not disputing the rise in crime, the Times authors continued to claim GOP political ads were using race to stir up fear. They labeled an ad against Wisconsin Senate candidate Mandela Barnes as having “racial overtones,” for example.
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The ad called Barnes “different” and “dangerous” for wanting to end cash bail, after a suspect out on low bail plowed through a Christmas parade in the state last year. The ad ends with Barnes standing alongside members of the progressive “Squad.” The Times’ journalists wrote, “His supporters called the ad racist.”
Earlier this Summer, a New York Times podcast cast doubt on voters’ concerns about safety and rising crime. “The Argument” host Jane Coaston claimed that New York City was “in many ways safer than a lot of small towns,” as her fellow Times journalist Alex Kingsbury claimed it was more dangerous to drive a car anywhere then walk down a street in a bad area of Chicago.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had no answer when asked by Fox News on Monday if President Biden thought U.S. cities were safe.
