If it seems like the New York Times is constantly hammering U.S. President Donald Trump, that’s because it is. However, the “Paper of Record” was also so eager to attack a politician with a similar nickname as “Germany’s Trump” that they failed to verify several false quotes that the item attributed to him.
The original story debuted as a “Saturday feature article” that focused on Markus Söder, the premier of Bavaria and a man who got his nickname because of “his tough views on immigration, his ‘shrewd’ communication skills and his distaste for political correctness.”
Katrin Bennhold, the Berlin bureau chief for the Times and author of the report under the title of “The Man They Call ‘Germany’s Trump,’” also stated:
Long before migration became a hot-button issue, Mr. Söder built his reputation of a provocateur.
German children should be called “Klaus,” not “Kevin,” he once said. Another time, he proposed to have the entire Green Party sent for a drug test.
Then on Monday, the Times issued a retraction that claimed many of the quotes attributed to Söder were instead “based on fabrications from a German satire website and did not come from the premier.”
Amber Athey, media and breaking news editor for The Daily Caller, quoted the Times’ release as stating: “While Mr. Söder has a reputation for making provocative statements, he did not say that German children should be called Klaus, not Kevin, nor did he propose having the entire Green Party sent for a drug test.
Athey noted: “Stefan Kuzmany took credit for the NYT’s misrepresentation of Söder in the German-language news site Spiegel, explaining that he wrote the satirical positions 14 years ago with “far-reaching consequences.”
The original article also took some potshots at Söder while noting: His arrival at an event was “a welcome fit for a king: A fawning crowd in traditional garb, three rounds of gun salutes and a brass band playing a royal march.”
The Times added: “Markus Söder, 51, Bavaria’s noisy new premier, got out of his car, complimented a woman in a dirndl, patted a couple of police horses, threw some sound bites about border security at the cameras, then strode into the beer tent to address the people of Baierbrunn, a small village near Munich.”
If Germany is strong, it’s because Bavaria is strong. There should be big signs all over Berlin saying “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Bavaria!”
And because we’re strong, we take the liberty to have an opinion!
“Few outside of Bavaria know Mr. Söder (pronounced Zoo-der),” Bennhold added. The “opinion” he has voiced on behalf of Bavaria is that he wants to put a stop to what he calls “asylum tourism” and to 'defend' Bavarian and Christian values,” Bennhold noted.
“Last month he ordered Christian crosses to be hung in all state government buildings in Bavaria. This month, he launched a Bavarian border force even though migrant numbers are sharply down."
Bennhold also addressed “his critics,” who refer to Söder as “Germany’s Trump, a fear-mongering populist who is taking Bavaria’s conservative Christian Social Union, the longtime ally of [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel’s centrist conservative party, to the far right and colluding with nativists in neighboring countries to overthrow Europe’s liberal order.”
His new recipe -- ahead of hard-fought state elections in the fall -- “includes a striking disregard for facts. He sides with President Donald Trump (rather than official German crime statistics) when he claims that migration is producing a crime wave. In fact, crime in Germany is at a 25-year-low.”
Let’s see. Söder gets a welcome “fit for a king.” He has “tough views on immigration,” also has “a distaste for political correctness” and even has a “striking disregard for facts.” And he is even called “Germany’s Trump.” No wonder the Times tried to bring him down!
