The U.S. Coast Guard reported today, at 7:08 a.m. ET on Thursday, that the crew of the OceanGate submersible destined for the Titanic had exhausted their air supply. Prior to this critical update, while hope and oxygen were rapidly depleting, the New Republic, a progressive-liberal publication, opted to divert attention away from the fate of the doomed crew.
Instead, they published an article highlighting the GOP affiliation of Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate. The article drew fierce criticism online, with some condemning it as a “disgusting” attempt to justify partisan schadenfreude. The backlash was so substantial that the New Republic promptly deleted the corresponding Twitter post.
The article, titled “OceanGate CEO Missing in Titanic Sub Had History of Donating to Republican Candidates,” staff writer Daniel Strauss emphasized Rush’s consistent GOP donations based on public campaign finance records. Strauss hinted that Rush’s affiliations may not even redeem him, going as far as insinuating that he could be considered a “RINO.”
Notable responses to the article poured in on Twitter. Investigative reporter Matt Taibbi wrote, “Welp, I guess we should hope they all die slowly and gasping in terror, then. Congrats @newrepublic you found a new low on Twitter!”
Welp, I guess we should hope they all die slowly and gasping in terror, then.
Congrats @newrepublic you found a new low on Twitter! pic.twitter.com/0jhhYKLYab
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) June 22, 2023
T. Becket Adams, the program director of the National Journalism Center, questioned the New Republic’s decision to publish such content, stating, “Not sure which is more interesting: that this was published by a team, and not one person thought to say, ‘this is extremely gross.’”
Adams added, “The entire article – from top to bottom – is like a work of art. A how-to for how NOT to do journalism. It’s beautiful, really, in a hilariously moronic sort of way.”
Radio host Tony Katz of 93.1FM WIBC commented, “When you lose your humanity, this is what you write about.” Janice Dean from Fox News wrote, “Wow. What if the missing CEO had donated to the other party? How disgusting and pathetic.”
In response to the backlash, the New Republic removed the article from Twitter but later published another piece lamenting the extensive interest in the fate of the OceanGate Titan crew.
However, the New Republic was not the only outlet to entertain the notion of Republicans facing a watery demise. Elie Mystal, a leftist MSNBC contributor and correspondent for the Nation, tweeted, “Next time some rich white person wants to take Sam Alito on an expensive trip, please take him to see the Titanic.”
Sadly, it has now been confirmed by Oceangate that all lives “have sadly been lost” following what experts believe to have been a catastrophic implosion.
