Americans awoke on Thursday to the very sad news of the death of civil rights pioneer Elijah Cummings. But the journalists at the New York Times made it clear what they remember the Democratic Congressman most for: Opposition to Donald Trump. Here’s the actual Times headline for the death of Cummings:
In obituary that is supposed to be about Cummings, writers Sheryl Gay Stolberg and David Stout mentioned or referred to Trump 9 times in the first 12 paragraphs. The reflection began this way:
Representative Elijah E. Cummings, a son of sharecroppers who rose to become one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress and a central figure in the impeachment investigation of President Trump, died on Thursday in Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
The Times journalists continued:
A critical ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Cummings spent his final months in Congress sparring with the president, calling Mr. Trump’s effort to block congressional lines of inquiry “far worse than Watergate.”
He was sued by Mr. Trump as the president tried to keep his business records secret.
The Times found Cummings’s friendship with Republicans odd, referring to those in the “ultraconservative” House Freedom Caucus.
Although he was a fierce defender of his party and its interests, Mr. Cummings had strong friendships with members of the other party. Republicans generally held him in high regard, and he had an especially improbable bond with Representative Mark Meadows, Republican of North Carolina and a leader of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus.
As for the networks, they also focused on Cummings’s opposition to Trump. But in a contrast to the Times putting this in a headline, CBS's Gayle King more fittingly paid tribute by noting: “The nation loses a titan of civil rights.”
However, on Good Morning America, co-host Michael Strahan opened, “A key figure in that impeachment inquiry in renowned civil rights leader representative Elijah Cummings passing away overnight.”
On the Today show, co-host Hoda Kotb reminded, “Now to the breaking news from Washington overnight. Long-time Democratic congressman, Elijah Cummings, the champion of civil rights and a key player in the impeachment investigation has died.”
