NY Times editorial board member who opposed Tom Cotton op-ed now supports Hochul sending troops to NYC

New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay appears to have completely evolved on the deployment of troops in major cities after insisting such a suggestion from Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in 2020 "puts Black people in danger."

On Wednesday, Gay expressed approval of Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's plan to send members of the National Guard to assist the New York City Police Department (NYPD) as a crime deterrent. This comes as the crime rate increased 20% during the first two months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to NYPD data cited by the New York Post. 

"New York City cannot function without a thriving subway, and ensuring that the system not only is safe but feels safe is paramount. So Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to deploy 750 National Guard members and 250 New York State Police officers to the subways after a spate of attacks is the right one," Gay wrote in a Times blog post, later adding, "If Hochul’s deployment of state officers can provide even some psychological comfort, nudging additional riders back to the subways, it could help the system become safer." 

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Gay was even quick to dismiss concerns that such use of the National Guard would lead to the return of "illegal" stop and frisks from the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations, saying "that history isn’t a reason to stop the deployment of responsible policing where and when it is needed."

"Hochul could reduce those doubts by making it clear that the mission of these officers and Guardsmen isn’t to harass any New Yorkers, but to provide a law enforcement presence that deters violent crime," Gay added.

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However, as pointed out by Washington Free Beacon reporter Aaron Sibarium, Gay was among the dozens of Times staffers who revolted against the paper's publishing of the now-infamous "Send in the Troops" op-ed penned by Cotton on June 3, 2020. These staffers insisted that the publication of an op-ed calling for troops to quell the destruction and violence of the George Floyd riots in cities across the nation was a threat to Black people, including Times staff.

"Running this puts black people in danger. And other Americans standing up for our humanity and democracy, too. @nytimes," Gay wrote at the time. 

Gay did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

Cotton himself appeared to take a victory lap and dunked on the Times' reporting of Hochul's plans.

"Sending in the troops to help restore law and order..." Cotton summarized the reporting. 

It has been nearly four years since Cotton's op-ed was published and to this day people are still talking about the controversry – not regarding what was actually written by the Republican senator, but rather the newsroom drama that stemmed from it.  

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Days after publication, The Times updated Cotton's piece with a lengthy editor's note declaring that it "fell short of our standards and should not have been published." 

Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger, who initially defended the op-ed's publication, later reversed himself, blaming "a rushed editorial process." Two members of the Times Opinion staff, James Bennet and Adam Rubenstein, were pushed out at the Times as a result. Another staffer, James Dao, was reassigned to a different department. 

Last week, Rubenstein penned a tell-all about the liberal bias in The Times newsroom. Perhaps the most explosive anecdote from his exposé was how he was shamed by an HR representative during his orientation for saying Chick-fil-A served his favorite sandwich for an icebreaker.

"We don’t do that here. They hate gay people," the HR rep scolded him before others "started snapping their fingers in acclamation."

Rubenstein's Chick-fil-A incident set X ablaze with liberal detractors, like his former Times colleague Nikole Hannah-Jones, accusing him of making up the story, which had repeatedly been verified by other journalists and Rubenstein's acquaintances aware of the orientation snafu.