The Boston Globe is publishing a satirical front page on Sunday alongside an op-ed calling for the GOP to stop Trump.
The fake front page will be the lead of the Globe’s Sunday Ideas section and “is a work of political satire and commentary produced by the Globe’s Editorial Board, not the newsroom,” Globe Editorial Page Editor Ellen Clegg wrote in an email [to Politico].
On Saturday, the Globe said:
The rise of demagogic strongmen is an all too common phenomenon on our small planet. And what marks each of those dark episodes is a failure to fathom where a leader’s vision leads, to carry rhetoric to its logical conclusion. The satirical front page of this section attempts to do just that, to envision what America looks like with Trump in the White House.
The editorial board notes what many have said over-and-over:
At some point, after the election, Republicans will also need to ask themselves some tough questions about how their actions and inactions made the party vulnerable to Trump. After all, a candidate spewing anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, authoritarian rhetoric didn’t come out of nowhere; the Tea Party has been strong enough long enough that someone like him shouldn’t be a surprise. Chasing short-term political gains, the GOP missed a lot of chances to fight the hateful currents that now threaten to overwhelm it.
In addition to the lead headline, DEPORTATIONS TO BEING, the fake front page includes these:
- “Markets sink as trade war looms”
- “New libel law targets ‘absolute scum’ in press”
- “U.S. soldiers refuse orders to kill ISIS families”
Although the page embedded in the Boston Globe website has yellow highlights, the PDF is stark black-and-white (pdf). I can see knee-jerk social media sharing from triggered outrage. Always #verifyBeforeSharing!
And yes, there is an editor’s note, in the lower left, but you have to look for it:
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com