12 scathing reactions to the Times publishing an opinion piece praising dictators

At a time when a UK poll found that 25 per cent of responders would join a far-right party, the Times saw fit to publish a column suggesting that dictators may be a bit troublesome but they get things done.

This, from The Times, is one of the steps that leads to fascism. pic.twitter.com/5UJCoFdR6l

— Steph Paton (@stephenpaton134) July 23, 2018

People thought they may have heard a similar argument before.

1.

Never go full fascist. pic.twitter.com/LNHwvJWjTL

— Steve Peers (@StevePeers) July 23, 2018

2.

https://twitter.com/MarkDiStef/status/1021308311709409280

3.

Oh look, the Times has gone full fash, care of the author of 'Kitchen Disco' and 'Bathroom Boogie'. pic.twitter.com/M59PQtIxhZ

— Mike Stuchbery 💀🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) July 23, 2018

4.

https://twitter.com/craigfots/status/1021313557873426432

5.

So much to take in from this article but I'd say my favourite bit might be when she says Trump "has a habit of staying true to his word", then, as if to really hammer home that she has no idea what she's talking about, specifically cites the border wall as an example of that pic.twitter.com/VJVjZphQRc

— katie spalding (@supermathskid) July 23, 2018

6.

Didn't think that in 2018 we'd still be doing "at least they made the trains run on time" hot takes pic.twitter.com/CUekvGd1m3

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) July 23, 2018

7.

"Say what you like about Mussolini, he made the political assassination process run on time" pic.twitter.com/aiEmPcqZwX

— Enough Of That Now (@AndyGilder) July 23, 2018

8.

Everything old is new again. pic.twitter.com/jyXxe1tnFR

— Ellin Stein (@ellinst) July 23, 2018

9.

I notice that she seems to make the case only for extreme right strongmen, not extreme left. I guess some things are simply beyond the pale.

— David Aldridge (@DatabaseSponge) July 23, 2018

10.

Won’t somebody please think of the fascists pic.twitter.com/Veq92QEyni

— Mollie Goodfellow (@hansmollman) July 23, 2018

11.

There is something objectionable in virtually every line of Clare Foges' column today, but at least there's some light relief… Donald Trump 'has a habit of staying true to his word' may be one of the most absurd statements ever committed to print in this country. pic.twitter.com/BZB0eGXdL0

— Matthew O'Toole (@MatthewOToole2) July 23, 2018

12.

https://twitter.com/beyond_satire/status/1021365338053672960

And the Independent’s Economics Editor, @BenChu, killed off any possibility that the headline might be misleading.

In case anyone outside the Times paywall was wondering whether that piece by David Cameron’s former speech writer, Clare Foges, was actually more nuanced than the headline suggested: pic.twitter.com/y2JOfVWPCi

— Ben Chu (@BenChu_) July 23, 2018