Politico called out for saying Schumer used 'outmoded' term after he apologized for invoking R-word

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MSNBC’s Joy Reid getting slammed for claiming students learn ‘Confederate Race Theory,’ an NPR TV critic doubling down on an op-ed urging Tom Hanks to be ‘anti-racist,’ and Biden muttering that he’ll get into trouble with his staff round out today’s top media headlines

Politico raised eyebrows on Monday for the way it framed a story about Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who's been under fire for using the R-word in a recent interview. 

While speaking with One NYCHA, Schumer was discussing proposals for housing the homeless and recalled his efforts to aid children with special needs when he served in the New York state legislature. 

"When I first was an assemblyman, they wanted to build a congregate living place for retarded children—the whole neighborhood was against it," Schumer said. "These are harmless kids! They just needed some help. We got it done."

Schumer's office issued a statement on Monday apologizing for the use of the derogatory term. 

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"For decades, Sen. Schumer has been an ardent champion for enlightened policy and full funding of services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities," the spokesperson said. "He is sincerely sorry for his use of the outdated and hurtful language."

However, Politico appeared to downplay the wrongdoing committed by the Democrat, running the headline, "Schumer apologizes after using outdated term for disabled children during housing interview."

The outlet similarly tweeted, "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer used an outmoded word to refer to developmentally disabled children during a recent podcast appearance."

Critics called out Politico for what seemed to be a double standard when it comes to its reporting regarding a Democrat in hot water versus a Republican. 

"Interesting how it's just ‘outmoded’ when a Democrat says it," The Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro reacted. 

"I’ll take 'This wouldn't be the headline if it were Trump for $500, Alex,'" Grabien Media founder Tom Elliott quipped.

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"The privilege of being a Democrat who is useful to the left's agenda is that the propaganda press don't destroy you when you do stuff like this. Not a slur worthy of cancellation -- just an ‘outmoded word.’ So nice for him!" The Federalist senior editor Mollie Hemingway tweeted. 

Notably, Politico didn't refrain from using the R-word in 2018 report about President Trump, who denied claims made in a book written by veteran journalist Bob Woodward that he had called his attorney general Jeff Sessions "mentally retarded."

"Trump: I never called Sessions ‘mentally retarded,'" Politico wrote in the headline. 

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Meanwhile, in a 2019 report about then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, she was under fire for appearing to agree with remarks that were made at a campaign stop, when an attendee asked her what she was going to do in her first year "to diminish the mentally retarded actions" of her would-be Republican predecessor. 

"'I didn’t hear the words': Harris apologizes for response to mental disabilities slur," read Politico's headline.