The fact that Christopher Rufo now rates his own hit pieces in The Daily Beast shows how effective the man has been at pushing back against critical race theory, academic queer theory, and more. Daily Beast columnist Jared Holt is concerned that Rufo has the ear of GOP presidential candidate; there was quite the left-wing freakout when DeSantis named Rufo to the board of trustees of New College in Florida in an attempt to purge the school of DEI initiatives and replace them with classical liberal education.
Holt ran a hit piece of Rufo in the Daily Beast, but the editors had to append a note, and Holt's tweet promoting his column has disappeared.
The Daily Beast's @jaredlholt has now deleted the tweet featuring his false and defamatory article against me, after his editors had to retract his key claims. An absolute embarrassment to journalism. pic.twitter.com/YPFXsKA8Cy
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 6, 2023
Look, they even used the scary stock photo image of two white men shaking hands.
The editor's note reads:
(Editor’s Note: The headline of this story has been updated to delete that Rufo is open to working with racists and fascists, which Rufo had explicitly denied. We have updated the story accordingly and added comment from Rufo.)
Added comment from Rufo? That's, like, doing journalism.
Holt writes:
Given Rufo’s apparent affinity for at least one self-described fascist, one might wonder whether Rufo sees himself as the person who can smooth the tensions in that gap and help curate these kinds of connections. Rufo’s track record and proximity to power certainly make him a potentially more effective person to attempt that mending.
Rufo made his name strategically advancing inflammatory accusations about communities of color and LGBTQ people for the sake of riling up support for Republicans. Domestic extremist movements have been especially responsive to these sorts of campaigns, turning out at events and explicitly encouraging threats against LGBTQ+ people and their allies.
It would make sense that Rufo would want to connect more with the seedier underbelly perpetuating the hysteria he has helped to inoculate; after all, they’re largely responsible for doing the dirty work of his campaigns. What’s more, Rufo has been rewarded and mythologized among the modern conservative intelligentsia for his efforts.
The piece's URL is "influential-anti-woke-activist-christopher-rufo-open-to-working-with-racists." Really, now.
The Daily Beast appended a very lengthy response from Rufo which is too long to reprint here, but here's a taste:
I have never suggested in any way, shape, or form that I am “open to working with racists and fascists”—and your claim that I have done so is deliberately false, malicious, and defamatory, with a clear intention of tarnishing my reputation. Contrary to your claims, I have repeatedly argued the opposite, including as part of the announcement for and during the proceedings of the “No Enemies to the Right” debate.
In my announcement, I explicitly argued against right-wing racialism and against an unrestricted policy of no enemies to the right.” I quote from the debate announcement:
The so-called dissident Right—a constellation of young right-wing activists, artists, and intellectuals—has brought much-needed vitality, and some tension, into the conservative movement. The best of this cohort has disrupted stale orthodoxies, launched publications, and broken into the culture with provocative new ideas. But others have fallen into some predictable dead ends: right-wing racialism, street brawls, and conspiratorialism, all easily highlighted and used by the Left to discredit the political Right as a whole. …
Jared looks like a Jared. pic.twitter.com/SRp5uhYxbG
— JWF (@JammieWF) October 7, 2023
— Always Adblock (@alwaysadblock) October 7, 2023
Sue them into utter annihilation Chris. It's the only way they will learn.
— IamJACKSventedSPLEEN (@IamSvented) October 7, 2023
In the era of social media, retractions mean little after the initial story has a broad impact.
You need to put these scumbags on their knees...
Looks like Jared is a "hateful extremist"
— Matthew Bohler (@BohlerMatthew) October 7, 2023
Shame on him and @thedailybeast editors for letting this ever see the light of day. Disinformation peddlers.
— Andrew Beck (@AndrewBeckUSA) October 7, 2023
Seeing the self appointed priesthood (journalists) finally get called out on their ritual slander of public conservatives they had become so used to getting away with over the last couple of decades is a beautiful thing.
— JoseF Rosario (@josephus77) October 7, 2023
He works for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which is funded in part by the Department of Homeland security, the UN, and the EU.
— Parker Thayer (@ParkerThayer) October 7, 2023
InfluenceWatch: Institute for Strategic Dialoguehttps://t.co/EPSaTUPhTy
Orwell would love this name: "Institute for Strategic Dialogue"
— Jim Stinson (@jimstinson) October 6, 2023
Translation: Institute to encourage the correct pro-Ukrainian war, pro-globalist, pro-EU propaganda.
Jared is likely really missing the old Twitter right now.
— randomtraveler (@historicalblip) October 7, 2023
He can sign up for the National Science Institute's "Expert Voices Together" program which protects "journalists" who get their feelings hurt on social media.
You know it just killed Holt's editor to have to add that to his piece.
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