Forget any notion of journalistic detachment. Daily Beast executive editor Noah Shachtman called for a boycott of Donald Trump’s businesses because he says they are supporting “racism and neo-fascism.”
"It's time for a boycott of Trump's businesses - and a public calling out of those who choose to work with him," Shachtman tweeted on November 22.
Jon Street of Glenn Beck's website The Blaze wrote an item noting Shachtman has a partisan background. Shacthman’s LinkedIn account describes he is a former employee on Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign, and a “journalist covering conflict, crime, intel, and tech across this blue planet of ours.”
The highly opinionated tweets from came only days after Trump proposed a database to track Muslims in the United States in an effort to avert future terrorist attacks.
"Let's get real: if you're renting in a Trump building or playing a round of golf at a Trump resort, you are supporting racism & neo-fascism," he wrote. "Six months ago, you could say you were doing business with Trump without endorsing his views. 8,000 racist moments later, that's no longer feasible."
He later added that anyone staying in a Trump hotel would be considered “making a statement -- a choice to be pro-racist, pro-fascist.” Does that mean NBC was "neo-fascist" all those years of making those Apprentice reality shows?
On Monday the 23rd, Daily Beast editor-in-chief John Avlon predictably stood behind Shachtman on Twitter. Avlon tweeted: "First, all Beasts are entitled to their own opinion on social media…Second, a core part of our mission is to stand up to bullies, bigots and hypocrites." And: "Third, we sure as hell aren't going to get lectured on journalistic ethics by a site run by a professional polarizer like Glenn Beck."
Avlon claims someone else is a professional polarizer while they call Trump a "neo-fascist." Avlon does this despite sitting next to Beasties who claim they would demand their heart back if it was donated to Dick Cheney: “But can you imagine being that organ donor?...I would never do it. I’d say ‘give me my heart back.’”
The Daily Beast hasn’t been the only “news” organization that has used an unconventional approach when covering the Trump campaign. The Huffington Post made headlines for not even taking Trump seriously as a presidential candidate.
