A New York Times editor apologized Thursday morning and deleted several “offensive” tweets following a Breitbart News report that accused him of making “anti-Semitic and racist” posts.
“I have deleted tweets from a decade ago that are offensive. I am deeply sorry,” wrote Tom Wright-Piersanti, an editor on The Times’ politics desk.
Breitbart News had reported earlier Thursday that Mr. Wright-Piersanti tweeted in 2010 that his New Years’ resolution was to be less anti-Semitic.
“I was going to say ‘Crappy Jew Year,’ but one of my resolutions is to be less anti-Semitic. So… HAPPY Jew Year. You Jews,” he reportedly tweeted. The tweets were still public at the time of Breitbart’s report but have since been removed.
Another tweet from December 2009 included a photograph of a vehicle with what looked like a Menorah on the roof and Mr. Wright-Piersanti’s comment, “Who called the Jew-police?” Breitbart reported.
Another tweet from that same month read, “There are four indian guys with mohawks in this one class, and each one is a douche in his own awful way. I hate mohawk Indians,” Breitbart reported.
Breitbart noted that the tweets were particularly “ironic” given how The Times’ editorial board “lectured” the president on anti-Semitism in an editorial published Wednesday evening. The outlet obtained comments from U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who called the editor’s tweets “very troubling,” and former White House aide Sebastian Gorka, who called The Times “a cess-pit of hatred and bigotry.”
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, called The Times’ writers “hypocrites” and retweeted several people who condemned Mr. Wright-Piersanti.
The news comes one week after The Times demoted deputy Washington editor Jonathan Weisman for making “serious lapses in judgment” on Twitter after several controversial tweets about people of color.
The Times responded to the latest backlash Thursday afternoon with a statement to The Wrap, saying, “We are aware of these tweets, which are a clear violation of our standards. We are reviewing next steps.”
