Bob Tyrrell's Chutzpah

While it has been nearly four months since I discontinued my association with The American Spectator, I do check in on it usually to read columns written by pals like David Catron, Larry Thornberry or Ross Kaminsky.


However, today I was drawn by Bob Tyrrell's piece titled "The Mad Search for Pro-Trump Columnists". In it, he complains about a piece written in The Washington Post by Paul Fahri about the lack of editorial support for Trump in the mainstream press. Tyrrell does not bother to include a link to Fahri's piece so I will do so here as a matter of courtesy.


I think Tyrrell misses the point of Fahri's column which largely centers on the efforts of the mainstream press to include more pro-Trump pieces on their editorial pages. Tyrrell does have a point when he points that Fahri has overlooked some pro-Trump writers who have been actively writing in mainstream media including himself.


But I had to laugh when I got to this passage in Tyrrell's piece:


In these columns I wrote about flying with Donald on his campaign plane and covering the campaign à la Teddy White. I weighed the numbers in the forthcoming race. I compared Donald’s robust response to Hillary’s feeble thrusts. In The American Spectator I also published writers who boldly spoke up for Trump including Esther Goldberg, Jeffrey Lord, George Neumayr and, of course, Buckley. I even published anti-Trump pieces by such columnists as David Catron, Ross Kaminsky, and William Murchison. Our readers can make up their own minds. If Farhi’s editors wanted pro-Trump writers, they could have called me. I have a telephone, and I am available via the internet.


What chutzpah!!! Of course, what Tyrrell doesn't mention is that he eventually demanded that all anti-Trump pieces cease - at least he did with me. Anyone who orders a writer to "please lay off Donald" is in no position to lecture anyone on how to structure their op-ed pages.


The point of Fahri's piece is that mainstream news outlets are trying to balance pro & anti-Trump point of views. The same cannot be said of Bob Tyrrell.