The Mirror

Republican gadfly warns GOP flacks to steer clear of BuzzFeed reporter who trashed Trump

Betsy Rothstein Gossip blogger
Font Size:

Buffalo-based Republican gadfly Michael Caputo sent out the following email to Republican press secretaries this afternoon, warning them to stay away from BuzzFeed‘s McKay Coppins, who wrote a recent profile on Donald Trump that depicted him as a showboating faker of a politician. Caputo ran what has been described as Carl Paladino‘s “unsuccessful but never boring” gubernatorial campaign. He’s also the coordinator for the Draft Trump effort, but does not work for him in any official capacity. As a result of the profile, Trump aide Sam Nunberg resigned (or was fired).

“The email went to all GOP press secretaries on The Hill,” Caputo told The Mirror. “Next: all press operatives at conservative organizations.”

Dear Republican Press Secretary:

I am writing to respectfully caution you about McKay Coppins of Buzzfeed, who misrepresented his intentions to the staff of Donald Trump and subsequently wrote a virulently partisan and inaccurate takedown. You can read his article here.

Last week, it was Donald Trump. Next week, it may be your boss.

As you may recall from the 2012 presidential race, Coppins is the blogger caught on a live mic telling his colleagues he thinks Mitt Romney is stupid.

Coppins is light on journalism experience, but that just makes him more volatile. Because he is an avowed liberal trying to make his bones with the Left, he cannot be trusted to do anything except fashion the truth into a club to bash Republicans. He’s not a journalist; he’s a partisan flibbertigibbet. He does not deserve your time.

It is important to note that Coppins is writing a book about the Republican Party for Little, Brown publishers. If he contacts you about this project, please know he is certainly writing another highly partisan takedown, this time about our party.

Clearly, the Trump staffer made a mistake. No other Republican should repeat it. Reagan veteran Jeffrey Lord of American Spectator said it best in an insightful column today:

“As McKay Coppins has vividly demonstrated, he is no more an objective journalist – and BuzzFeed is no more an objective web site – than Harry Reid is a nun… There is a lesson in this episode with Donald Trump and BuzzFeed. Let’s hope there are Republicans and conservatives out there who are paying attention to that lesson.”

Please call me with any questions. Thank you for your work on behalf of our shared ideals.

Sincerely,

Michael R. Caputo

Buffalo, NY