New York Times Spreads the Big Republican Primary Lie
Feature length article creates a false narrative about the Republican Vice Presidential nomination
WHO WOULD DONALD TRUMP
CHOOSE AS HIS RUNNING MATE?
By Michael C. Bender and Rebecca Lieberman November 25, 2023
Donald J. Trump hasn’t won a single primary or caucus vote yet, let alone the Republican nomination, but his lead in the polls has left much of the political world viewing his nomination as all but inevitable.
It has also inspired a fair amount of speculation about who might wind up on a 2024 ticket beside him. It will almost surely not be former Vice President Mike Pence, who crossed Trump by certifying the 2020 election results.
These first two paragraphs answer the “why” question about the Times decision to publish this piece, but the headline alone creates the false narrative that the presidential nominee “chooses” the vice presidential nominee.
I immediately wrote to the Times:
“It would certainly be reasonable for readers to believe this published BIG REPUBLICAN PRIMARY LIE, but publishing lies also has consequences.”
“What is your defense for publishing this lie?”
Yesterday, I published this Substack post:
I continued to the Times:
“Yes, only the courts can enjoin you and order you to CEASE and DESIST publishing the BIG REPUBLICAN PRIMARY LIE that primaries choose the Republican nominee, not the Republican National Convention, and that the primary “winner” picks the Vice President nominee.”
“At GOP.com you can find the Rules of the Republican Party.”
“The Preamble to those rules provides evidence of the FACT that only the Republican National Convention has the authority to determine how the Republican Party candidates for President and Vice President are chosen.”
“Those rules will not be made until July, 2024.”
“Best regards.”
THE TIMES RESPONDED
Thank you for contacting The New York Times. We appreciate readers who share their feedback and help us report thoroughly and accurately.
You have written to the corrections department, and your message will reach the appropriate editor or reporter promptly. If we determine there is a correctable error, a correction will be appended to the article and published in print if necessary. Because of the volume of email we receive, we cannot respond individually to every query.
I then asked the TIMES:
“Please advise how you plan to make this correction to clearly indicate that candidates do not determine how the nomination takes place or who the nominee for Vice President is.”
“Those decisions are convention decisions that will be made by the delegates to the Republican National Convention in July, 2024.”
“Thank you.”
A day later, I again wrote:
“Thank you for responding.
“Have you determined if there is a correctable error?
If you need further information about why the published article needs correction, please advise.”
CRICKETS!
FAKE NEWS TIMES AUTHOR SCORES CNN SEGMENT PITCHING STORY
On Sunday, I happened to catch a segment on CNN with Michael Bender pitching this BIG REPUBLICAN PRIMARY LIE to CNN’s cable audience.
On Monday, I again wrote the Times:
Not sure how this works, but the author of the fake news about who Trump would “pick” to be “his” Vice President landed a lengthy segment on CNN “explaining” the Times article to cable viewers.
How will you make CNN aware of this false narrative? Will you ask them to also produce a “correction”?
Or do you have evidence that proves that Trump, indeed, will have the authority to “pick” the Republican candidate for Vice President in 2024?
Did Wikipedia get it wrong?
The vice presidential candidates of the major national political parties are formally selected by each party's quadrennial nominating convention, following the selection of the party's presidential candidate. The official process is identical to the one by which the presidential candidates are chosen, with delegates placing the names of candidates into nomination, followed by a ballot in which candidates must receive a majority to secure the party's nomination.
Please respond asap to prevent further dissemination of this BIG REPUBLICAN PRIMARY LIE.
More CRICKETS!
On Tuesday I sent a final message to the TIMES:
Having seen no “defense” or correction I assume you are sticking with your BIG REPUBLICAN PRIMARY LIE.
Best wishes!
GASLIGHTING REPUBLICANS IS VERY EFFECTIVE!
This is a great example of how GASLIGHTING spreads lies. One liar invents a narrative; a copycat liar magnifies it and it soon becomes “conventional wisdom”.(BTW “conventional wisdom” is simply a lie in disguise.)
For Republicans interested in saving the party:
As we stated at the beginning of GASLIGHTING REPUBLICANS, our purpose is not to teach journalism; rather, it is to provide education to potential delegates to the 2024 Republican National Convention.
I encourage persons interested in becoming delegates to become paid subscribers at this time.
Delegates to the Republican National Convention are not ROBOTS sent with the singular purpose of celebrating with the “presumptive nominee” who won the “primary election”.
Delegates to the Republican National Convention become the Republican Party when the convention convenes.
They alone have the duty, responsibility and authority to govern the DELIBERATIVE ASSEMBLY also known as The Republican Party.
The Republican National Convention is the highest authority of the Republican Party.
Through the Convention Credentials Committee, the delegates decide any contests about WHO should ultimately be seated as a permanent delegate.
Once the composition of the convention has been settled, delegates move on to consider the report of the Convention Rules Committee which, upon adoption by a majority vote, become the Rules of the Republican Party to govern the 2024 Republican National Convention and create the Republican National Committee (RNC) to provide the “general management of the Republican Party” until the NEXT national convention (2028).
The Convention Rules Committee is made up of a man and a woman from each state and territory who are ELECTED by the delegates themselves from among the members of their delegation.
These 112 individuals are the most important people at the convention, simply because they work, in the week prior to the convention, to draft what will become the rules for the 2024 Republican National Convention.
You cannot trust the media for information like this. They will lie to you.
You cannot trust the current occupiers of the RNC for information like this. They will lie to you.
You cannot trust Republican consultants or “strategists: for information like this. Some of those simply don’t know much; the ones that do will lie to you if it suits their purposes.
You cannot trust professors. Most of them only know what they have read in the media or have been told by the RNC or consultants or strategists. Typically not “liars”, just poorly informed.
Can you trust me?
I will not lie to you.
I will provide factual information to help you become an effective delegate to the 2024 Republican National Convention
I will give you the benefit of my 15 years as a member of the Republican National Committee serving as a member of the RNC Rules Committee and more importantly as a member of the REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION Rules Committee in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
I know how the party is structured and how it should be governed. I will be able to provide valuable advice and factual material to assist Republicans in, first, becoming delegates to the convention and, ultimately, becoming a valuable member of convention committees where the meaningful work of the party takes place.