Fired New York Times editor says paper lying about reason for dismissal after pro-Biden tweet

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Former New York Times freelance editor Lauren Wolfe shot back at the paper's claim that she was not dismissed solely because of a pro-Joe Biden tweet last week, saying the Times was smearing her reputation.

Wolfe, who came under fire for saying she had "chills" over Biden's plane landing the day before his inauguration, told the Washington Post that the tweet was the only reason she was dismissed.

"Every day, I was scared I was going to do something wrong. So, whatever they’re implying, it’s a shot at my reputation, which I’ve worked very carefully to build," she told the Post's Erik Wemple.

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"The people I’m mad at are the people who put out the statement," she added. "I respected tremendously the people I worked with. I respected them to the end of the earth and still do. They were the end-all, the be-all."

The Times had issued a statement that said a "lot of inaccurate information" had been circulating and that "we didn't end someone's employment over a single tweet."

Wolfe told the Post a manager from the company had dismissed her because the Times could not be associated with the tweet.

Wolfe admitted she had received a warning from the same manager in the months prior over another tweet in which she had equated the opposition to mask-wearing by conservative men to ‘toxic masculinity’. Yet, Wolfe rebutted that the manager explained that her tweets were "borderline" and other people at the Times admitted to having done "worse."

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The Times social media policy in part states "If our journalists are perceived as biased or if they engage in editorializing on social media, that can undercut the credibility of the entire newsroom. We’ve always made clear that the newsroom employees should avoid posting anything on social media that damages our reputation for neutrality and fairness."

Wolfe became the center of Twitter controversy after she reacted to then President-elect Joe Biden’s plane landing the day before his inauguration.

She wrote: "Biden landing at Joint Base Andrews now. I have chills."

Wolfe also wrote, "The pettiness of the Trump admin not sending a military plane to bring him to D.C. as is tradition is mortifying. Childish."

Wolfe was not aware that Biden had chosen to take his own plane to Washington.

Subsequently, Wolfe drew criticism from various members of the media, including Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume and Glenn Greenwald, a writer for the Intercept.

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Journalist Yashar Ali later reported Wolfe had been fired, leading to questions on what led the newspaper to make the decision. Many criticized the paper and accused its leaders of giving into pressure from conservatives.