Cotton rips NY Times over op-ed apology: 'A child mob truly is in charge at The New York Times tonight'

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Sen. Tom Cotton on the New York Times apologizing for publishing his op-ed

The New York Times says a 'rushed editorial process' led to the publication of an opinion piece that 'did not meet our standards'; reaction from Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., responded Thursday to The New York Times apology for running his opinion piece by blasting the paper, accusing them of retreating in the face of a "woke mob" in their newsroom.

"I can tell you my op-ed doesn't meet The New York Times standards," Cotton told "The Story". "It far exceeds their standards, which are normally full of left-wing sophomoric drivel. And I find it amazing that in the last 24 hours, the editor of The New York Times and the publisher of The New York Times have both defended their decision to publish this op-ed, but in the face of the 'woke' mob, of 'woke' kids that are in their newsroom, they tucked tail and they ran.

NY TIMES WRITERS IN 'OPEN REVOLT' AFTER PUBLICATION OF COTTON OP-ED, CLAIM BLACK STAFF 'IN DANGER'

"They confessed and said they're going to go into reeducation camp. They were going to cut the number of op-eds they write," Cotton continued. "And for that ... I will say to the world, you're welcome for getting The New York Times to run less of the garbage that you normally see in their pages."

Cotton's piece, published Wednesday, called on the federal government to "send in the troops" to quell violent urban uprisings following the death of George Floyd. The piece was met with "open revolt" at the paper, with several staffers tweeting in unison, "Running this puts Black @NYTimes staff in danger."

After Times editorial page editor James Bennet and Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger issued statements defended the publication of the op-ed, a spokeswoman released a statement Thursday evening claiming Cotton's piece never should have been published.

Cotton defended the position he stated in the op-ed, saying that the victims of looting and rioting would have appreciated the help of the military.

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"I bet a lot of those business owners in midtown Manhattan who had their businesses smashed by people who brought crowbars and bricks to a peaceful protest would probably beg to differ that the New York Police Department, not because of their own fault, but because of their hapless mayor, couldn't protect their property, their livelihoods," Cotton said. "In some cases, many were threatened or felt threatened for their lives as well."

Cotton cited a Morning Consult poll saying 58 percent of Americans are in favor of using the U.S. military to bolster local law enforcment against rioters before turning his wrath back on the so-called "paper of record."

"A child mob truly is in charge at The New York Times tonight," Cotton said.

Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.