In an incident that has sparked controversy, The New York Times was recently accused of using a Nazi slogan in the headline of an opinion piece about Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance. The headline read: “JD Vance’s Blood-and-Soil Nationalism Finds Its Target.
The characterization of Vance’s political ideology in the headline caused outrage among Trump campaign operatives and allies, who saw it as a direct attack on Vance and his supporters. Republican strategist Andrew Surabian was particularly critical, calling out The Times for essentially labeling Vance as a Nazi over their use of the slogan “blood and soil.
The criticism from the Vance campaign also highlighted the potential real-world harm that such inflammatory headlines could have. In light of an assassination attempt on President Trump only two months prior, there were concerns about the potential for violence against Vance following The Times’ accusations.
In his piece, Bouie blamed Vance’s speculative comments about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, as being responsible for a series of bomb threats made against local buildings and institutions. He also argued that the Republican veep candidate had embraced “blood-and-soil nationalism,” which he described as a form of exclusionary politics based on ethnicity and origin.
Vance campaign spokeswoman Taylor Van Kirk called on The Times to retract their “disgusting” headline, expressing concern that it could incite violence against the Ohio senator. Following the backlash, The Times quietly changed the headline to “Shouldn’t JD Vance Represent All of Ohio.
Despite multiple requests for comment, neither Bouie nor a spokesperson for The Times responded.
