A contributing opinion writer for The New York Times was fired from his work at the think tank on Thursday by a tweet that jokingly suggested that former Vice President Mike Pence be lynched to unify the country.
Now Niskanen Center’s former vice president of research, Will Wilkinson, raised his eyebrows on Wednesday night when he offered some ironic advice to President Biden after his inaugural speech, asking for unity.
“If Biden really wanted a match, he would lynch Mike Pence,” tweeted Wilkinson.
On Thursday, Wilkinson deleted the tweet and apologized.
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“Last night I made a mistake of judgment and tweeted that. It was a sharp sarcasm, but it felt like a plea for violence. This is always wrong, even as a joke,” wrote Wilkinson. “It was especially wrong at a time when unity and peace are so critical. I deeply regret and swear not to repeat the mistake.”
Wilkinson has since blocked his account for public viewing.
The apology was not good enough for the Niskanen Center, which said in a statement that it “appreciates and encourages interesting and provocative online speech.
“However, we draw the line in the statements that are, or can in some way be interpreted as tolerating or promoting violence. As such, the Niskanen Center, with a heavy heart, separated from Will Wilkinson. We thank him for his value. contributions to the organization and I wish you success in your future endeavors. “
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A Times spokesman told Fox News: “Advocating violence in any way, even as a joke, is unacceptable and against The New York Times standards. We are reevaluating our relationship with Will Wilkinson.”
According to his page on the Times website, Wilkinson contributed three opinion pieces to the newspaper in 2020. His most recent article, published in late November, tried to explain why “so many Americans voted for Trump”.