New York Times Editor Owns Up To 'Blunder' On Patriots/Trump Turnout Tweet

The New York Times made a mistake, and the editor in question quickly owned up to it.

The Times’ sports section tweeted out a photo comparing how many members of the New England Patriots showed up for the White House ceremony in 2015, when Barack Obama was in office, to Wednesday, under Donald Trump’s administration.

Patriots' turnout for President Obama in 2015 vs. Patriots' turnout for President Trump today: https://t.co/OxMEOqZonI pic.twitter.com/pLmJWhOw1j

— NYT Sports (@NYTSports) April 19, 2017

The Patriots and Trump both shot back at the tweet, which overlooked the fact that the 2015 photo included more than 40 non-playing staff, whereas Wednesday’s photo included players only.

These photos lack context. Facts: In 2015, over 40 football staff were on the stairs. In 2017, they were seated on the South Lawn. https://t.co/iIYtV0hR6Y

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) April 20, 2017

Failing @nytimes, which has been calling me wrong for two years, just got caught in a big lie concerning New England Patriots visit to W.H.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2017

Here’s the apology by the Times’ sports editor, presumably Jason Stallman.

NYT Sports editor gave me a pretty effusive statement on that Trump/Patriots-crowd-size-comparison tweet: pic.twitter.com/yrvyuCPybp

— Colin Campbell (@colincampbell) April 20, 2017

There were 34 Patriots players in attendance for Wednesday’s ceremony while 36 players, including only 21 who were on the Patriots’ final 53-man roster, did not show up.

Thumbnail photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images