The New York Times changed its headline on a Sept. 4 story about how some Gold Star families were turned off by President Biden’s apparent focus on the death of his son, Beau, while he was visiting with the families of U.S. service members killed in the terror attack at Kabul’s airport.
The original story titled, “Biden, Still Grieving His Son Beau, Finds That Not Everyone Wants to Hear About It,” was changed to, “In Invoking Beau, Biden Broaches a Loss That’s Guided His Presidency.”
Mark Schmitz, the father of Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, was one of the Gold Star families that took issue with the commander in chief invoking his own son.
"When he just kept talking about his son so much it was just — my interest was lost in that. I was more focused on my own son than what happened with him and his son," Schmitz told The Washington Post. "I’m not trying to insult the president, but it just didn’t seem that appropriate to spend that much time on his own son."
Both versions of the headline have drawn criticism on social media, from the left and right.
Wow, what a-holes.
— Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) September 4, 2021
The original: @nytimes: "Biden, Still Grieving His Son Beau, Finds That Not Everyone Wants to Hear About It"
Now: "In Invoking Beau, Biden Broaches a Loss That’s Guided His Presidency" pic.twitter.com/6IHuzr52q6
Is the headline false? Obviously not. But the Biden voters think it rudely implies the president talks too much about it -- not that it's insulting to jerks who don't want to hear it.
— NewsBusters (@newsbusters) September 7, 2021
Try "Grieving families find Biden invoking his son sounded scripted."https://t.co/X9JEBVP6OK https://t.co/YlluGMiv3q
The NYT, still churning out garbage headlines, finds that hardly anyone wants to read them any more. https://t.co/2r29OOdyln
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) September 5, 2021