Nation columnist criticized for writing she’d vote for Biden if he ‘boiled babies’

The Nation columnist Katha Pollitt has come under criticism for a column in which she wrote that she would “vote for Joe Biden if he boiled babies and ate them” given the importance of ending President Trump’s White House tenure.

“I would vote for Joe Biden if he boiled babies and ate them. He wasn’t my candidate, but taking back the White House is that important,” Pollitt wrote. 

Pollitt also wrote that she would also vote for the presumptive Democratic nominee even if she believed sexual assault allegations leveled against him by former Senate staffer Tara Reade regarding an incident she claims occurred in 1993. Biden has staunchly denied the claim.

“I cannot believe that a rational person can grasp the disaster that is Donald Trump and withhold their support from Biden because of Tara Reade. I would say this even if I had no problems with Reade’s account — after all, Biden will be running against Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by 25 women,” she wrote.

Negative reactions to the column lit up social media.

Gross beyond words. On so many levels: political and personal. In what bizarre universe does “boiled babies” become a metaphor to use for any purpose. Sick.

— James J. Zogby (@jjz1600) May 21, 2020

People say at least Katha Pollitt is being honest here in this lede, but given her views against the sanctity of human life, I think she might be even more likely to vote for Biden in this scenario. https://t.co/wF4Xw8A4Qz

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) May 21, 2020

Democrats used to have contempt for what they viewed as stupid MAGA cultists who would vote for Trump even if he shot someone on 5th ave. Now they have become what they hated.

— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) May 21, 2020

Ball is a host of Hill.TV’s “Rising.”

Even without the hyperbole, you have to be genuinely evil to come to the conclusion that this author comes to. Sick stuffhttps://t.co/KZNbYeGqte

— Charlie Nash (@CharlieNash) May 21, 2020

Pollitt responded to the blowback by mocking her critics as “tender souls” who don’t appreciate “dark humor.”

Most of the negative comments about my Tara Reade piece are from tender souls horrified by the boiled babies in the lede. Some ppl don’t appreciate dark humor and comic overstatement. They must have a hard time in this fallen world. https://t.co/v9GgmcvEyX

— (((Katha Pollitt))) (@KathaPollitt) May 21, 2020