Newsday was forced to issue an apology over a “vile” and “insensitive” political cartoon concerning conservative leader Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The Long Island, New York, newspaper on Saturday ran an illustration that depicted an empty chair with a blood splatter under a tent labeled “Charlie Kirk” and “Prove Me Wrong.”
An arrow pointed to the seat with the text “Turning Point USA,” the name of Kirk’s conservative nonprofit organization.
The cartoon, from Pulitzer finalist illustrator Chip Bok, ran three days after Kirk was assassinated at a rally in Utah.
Newsday on Sunday admitted it never should have printed the “insensitive and offensive” cartoon.
“We deeply regret this mistake and sincerely apologize to the family of Charlie Kirk and to all,” the newspaper said. “We made an error in judgment. The cartoon has been removed from our digital platforms.”
The newspaper added that Bok’s illustration was an attempt “to suggest Kirk’s assassination might be a turning point for healing our nation’s divide.”
“The imagery was inappropriate and should never have been published in Newsday,” the newspaper said.
Suffolk County Republican Party Chair Jesse Garcia on Saturday wrote that Newsday had “crossed a line” by publishing “a vile cartoon about the political assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
“This isn’t journalism. It’s a reckless, partisan attack that blames the victim, silences free speech, and shames everything this country should stand for,” he said.
The chair, though, said he and his GOP organizations accepted Newsday’s apology.
“On behalf of the Suffolk County and Brookhaven Republican Committees, I accept this apology. We recognize that owning up to such an egregious error is not easy, and we hope this moment serves as a reminder to every newsroom in America that words and images matter,” Garcia posted on X.
Garcia wasn’t the only GOP official who chastised Newsday on Saturday.
“The unconscionable cartoon in Newsday trivializing the assassination of Charlie Kirk is so over the top despicable that it is shocking even for the majority of us who realized long ago that Newsday abandoned any pretension of fairness,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman wrote on X.
“Cancel Newsday!”
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