Hit Piece by Publication Plagued by Layoffs Targets IL Trump Delegates, IR, as Biden Trails Trump in National Polls

By Illinois Review

On Sunday, the once-conservative Chicago Tribune took aim at Illinois Trump delegates running in the March 19 primary, pouring over social media posts and public comments of 51 people that have pledged their support to help make President Donald Trump the Republican nominee for President of the United States during the Republican National Convention in July.

In a front page hit piece, the Tribune sounded more like the New York Times or the Washington Post, referring to many of the Trump delegates as election deniers, insurrectionists and anti-vaxxers, but the failing Chicago-based news publication has embraced its hatred for President Trump, publishing editorial after editorial slamming the wildly popular 45th President of the United States, who leads the frail and forgetful President Joe Biden in a head-to-head contest in virtually every national poll.

On January 23rd, the Tribune Editorial Board published a piece slamming Trump for his “derisive nickname for Nikki Haley,” writing that “birdbrain” is an insult to all women, even though Trump made her a US Ambassador during his administration where she was the leader of the US delegation before the United Nations – a position full of prestige, power, and a presidential-style motorcade and security detail – making her one of the most influential women in the world.

On January 11th, the Tribune Editorial Board published a piece praising the anti-Trump former Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie for speaking truth during his failed presidential campaign where he frequently said that Trump was “unfit for office.” Christie remains wildly unpopular with Republican voters and his campaign never got off the ground while his polling consistently hovered near the very bottom – making him one of the least desirable candidates in the entire field.

And on January 10th, the Tribune Editorial Board published a piece where they said, “Excising Donald Trump’s cancerous affect on our democracy should be up to the voters, not the courts.” The piece argues that Trump is unfit to run for office and falsely suggests that removing him from the picture will help Illinois Republicans start winning again. But the reality is that the Illinois Republican Party has been losing long before Trump entered the scene, and thanks to the failed leadership at the state level, Republicans will continue to lose elections until a team that embraces both Trump and the conservative grassroots base of the party is installed at the top.

The Tribune even took aim at this publication, including IR Publisher-Emeritus and General Counsel Scott Kaspar and IR Editor-in-Chief Mark Vargas. Kaspar is a Trump delegate for the 6th Congressional District and a member of Trump Properties which includes Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida residence. Last week, IR hosted election integrity advocate and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for a fundraiser in Bolingbrook, Ill. to raise money for Lindell’s Election Crime Bureau. The event was attended by over 150 people and raised over $50,000, but the Tribune wanted to link this high profile event with “election deniers” to try and generate some clickbait for their failing newspaper. Lindell has made it clear that his efforts are not about overturning the 2020 election, but rather, securing our election platform and going back to paper ballots.

The Tribune also noted Vargas’ work with the Trump White House where he “served as a conduit between Trump and disgraced former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who received a presidential commutation from Trump in 2020 after serving eight years of his 14-year federal corruption prison sentence.” Like Trump, Blagojevich remains incredibly popular with Black Americans – especially in the south and west sides of Chicago – communities abandoned by their Democratic leaders. And just last month, polls indicated that President Biden and Democrats are losing Black and Hispanic voters in large numbers as President Trump’s support continues to rise.

For the last several years, the Tribune has struggled to gain traction with readers, and in 2021, they had a mass exodus of journalists who accepted buyouts – with nearly 40 people leaving, including many of the publication’s most recognizable names including Eric Zorn and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Mary Schimch. And just last month, it was reported that the Tribune is laying off over 200 people at their Freedom Center Printing Plant in downtown Chicago – making the news publication who usually writes the story – now the story.

The Illinois Primary is on March 19th.