The editor-in-chief of the website the Daily Beast is standing by the executive editor's call for Americans to shame and boycott companies that do business with Republican presidential candidate and former reality TV star Donald Trump.
On Sunday evening, the Daily Beast's Noah Shachtman took to the social medium Twitter to express his increasing distaste for the Trump team's campaign tactics:
Let's get real: if you're renting in a Trump building or playing a round of golf at a Trump resort, you are supporting racism & neo-fascism.— Noah Shachtman (@Noah Shachtman)1448235102.0
Earlier on Sunday, Trump tweeted a graphic about "black-on-black crime" that turned out to not only be patently false, but which has its origins in Neo-Nazi propaganda.
Shachtman continued:
Seems to me it's time for a boycott of Trump's businesses - and a public calling out of those who choose to work with him.— Noah Shachtman (@Noah Shachtman)1448235682.0
6 months ago, you could say you were doing business w Trump w/o endorsing his views. 8,000 racist moments later, that's no longer feasible.— Noah Shachtman (@Noah Shachtman)1448236992.0
Today, if you rent a room at a Trump Hotel, you're making a statement - a choice to be pro-racist, pro-fascist.— Noah Shachtman (@Noah Shachtman)1448237635.0
Glenn Beck's website TheBlaze.com reported on the tweets, pointing out that Shachtman worked on President Bill Clinton's first campaign for the White House and accusing the Beast of bias.
But the Daily Beast's editor-in-chief John Avlon stood behind Shachtman on Monday, saying Shachtman is free to express himself on his own social media profiles.
First, all Beasts are entitled to their own opinion on social media.— John Avlon (@John Avlon)1448286700.0
Second, a core part of our mission is to stand up to bullies, bigots and hypocrites.— John Avlon (@John Avlon)1448286725.0
He also took a dig at the Blaze, a partisan website run by a man who turned out to be too right-wing and histrionic for even the Fox News Channel.
Third, we sure as hell aren’t going to get lectured on journalistic ethics by a site run by a professional polarizer like Glenn Beck.— John Avlon (@John Avlon)1448286764.0
