{"id":2647025,"date":"2026-08-19T14:41:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T18:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignbret-stephens-should-get-on-his-knees-and-apologize-for-voting-for-woke-1\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T14:43:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T18:43:57","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignbret-stephens-should-get-on-his-knees-and-apologize-for-voting-for-woke-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignbret-stephens-should-get-on-his-knees-and-apologize-for-voting-for-woke-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Bret Stephens Should Apologize For Voting For &#8216;Woke 1&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignbret-stephens-should-get-on-his-knees-and-apologize-for-voting-for-woke-1%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2647025&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article critiques Bret Stephens, a New York Times content creator and self-described remaining a \u201cBiden conservative,\u201d for his hypocrisy surrounding the &#8220;Woke 1.0&#8221; movement. Despite calling out Alexandria ocasio-Cortez for her comments on \u201cWoke 1,\u201d Stephens himself previously supported and voted for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, asserting that a Biden win was necessary to prevent the rise of \u201cWoke\u201d ideology. The piece highlights Stephens&#8217; past arguments that a Biden victory would curb far-left extremism, which, in retrospect, led to ongoing issues like inflation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/romney-cotton-to-propose-10-minimum-wage-with-mandatory-e-verify\/\" title=\"Romney, Cotton To Propose  Minimum Wage With Mandatory E...Verify\">increased illegal immigration<\/a>, and rising crime. The author dismisses Stephens as lacking integrity, class, and writerly skill, and criticizes him for demanding accountability from others while refusing to take responsibility for endorsing policies that contributed to current problems. The article is rooted in a tone of sarcasm and contempt, emphasizing Stephens\u2019 inconsistent stance and perceived superficiality.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GLX-zcQwBxI\" target=\"_blank\">The Fifth Column\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/19\/bret-stephens-should-get-on-his-knees-and-apologize-for-voting-for-woke-1\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Bret Stephens Should Get On His Knees And Apologize For Voting For \u2018Woke 1\u2019&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/19\/bret-stephens-should-get-on-his-knees-and-apologize-for-voting-for-woke-1\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Bret Stephens Should Get On His Knees And Apologize For Voting For \u2018Woke 1\u2019&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/19\/bret-stephens-should-get-on-his-knees-and-apologize-for-voting-for-woke-1\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/19\/bret-stephens-should-get-on-his-knees-and-apologize-for-voting-for-woke-1\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Bret Stephens Should Get On His Knees And Apologize For Voting For \u2018Woke 1\u2019&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/19\/bret-stephens-should-get-on-his-knees-and-apologize-for-voting-for-woke-1\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); pfTrackEvent(&#039;Bret Stephens Should Get On His Knees And Apologize For Voting For \u2018Woke 1\u2019&#039;); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">New York Times content creator Bret Stephens, who once <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/11\/21\/losing-is-not-winning-no-matter-what-the-medias-favorite-conservatives-keep-saying\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/11\/21\/losing-is-not-winning-no-matter-what-the-medias-favorite-conservatives-keep-saying\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described himself<\/a> as a \u201cBiden conservative\u201d and who voted for Kamala Harris, is calling on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to apologize for \u201cWoke 1\u201d while acting like he himself didn\u2019t vote for it. Not so fast, sweaty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I asked Stephens in an email if he regretted his vote for Joe Biden in 2020 and whether it was possible to get him to account for it. \u201cYou\u2019re a professional troll, Eddie,\u201d he replied. \u201cDo better.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1180112141\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And yet, this slack-jawed idiot is demanding apologies for the thing he endorsed and now wants nothing to do with accountability. Fascinating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a piece of content on Tuesday, Stephens asked in what I assume is sincerity, \u201cNow can we have some accountability for the vast damage that Woke 1.0 did, not to mention the damage that Woke 2.0 continues to do?\u201d He was referring to what Ocasio-Cortez <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/14\/every-democrat-should-be-asked-what-about-woke-1-was-crazy\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/14\/every-democrat-should-be-asked-what-about-woke-1-was-crazy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said in a TV interview last weekend<\/a> when asked to comment on the extreme past statements of a particularly bat-turd crazy Democrat congressional candidate (who has since lost her primary race). \u201cShe\u2019s moved away from it,\u201d said Ocasio-Cortez, matter-of-factly. Then, with a hearty chuckle, she said, \u201cAnd I have a local city councilman that has this saying: \u2018Woke 1 was crazy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s what Stephens <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/08\/18\/opinion\/woke-liberals-restitution.html\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/08\/18\/opinion\/woke-liberals-restitution.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said about that<\/a>: \u201cRestitution, if only in the form of honest contrition and perhaps even a public apology, is in order.\u201d He then listed a series of examples of innocent people who were \u201ccanceled\u201d for some fake transgression \u2014\u00a0most often of which was simply being white and having an opinion \u2014 before concluding with hilarious confidence that, \u201cIf liberals want to be serious about standing up for liberty, they have a particular obligation to acknowledge and reject the illiberalism that swept so much of the left in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nobody wants to remember it, but \u201cwoke\u201d was at its zenith in 2020, the year of Patron Saint George Floyd and the \u201cfiery but mostly peaceful\u201d protests. And that also happens to be the year that Stephens declared <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/17\/opinion\/joe-biden-conservative-2020.html\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/17\/opinion\/joe-biden-conservative-2020.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">his support<\/a> for Democrat Joe Biden, and surely every other Democrat up for election that year, reasoning that the \u201cwoke\u201d movement would only get worse if they didn\u2019t win.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m not making this up. Stephens actually said that. In mid-August 2020, he wrote, \u201cConservatives who worry that a Biden win will empower progressive Wokesters should fear how much more empowered they\u2019ll be should he lose.\u201d That\u2019s from the same column wherein he declared himself a \u201cBiden conservative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other words, Stephens told his readers it was necessary to hand the government over to \u201cWokesters\u201d in order to placate them. Yeah, we saw how that worked. The result was record-high inflation, tens of millions of illegal aliens flooding the country, and a surge in all kinds of crime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thanks, Bret! At least we didn\u2019t get to see what they would have done had they lost! That would have been <em>real <\/em>bad!<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bret Stephens <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/12\/18\/bret-stephens-is-a-graceless-classless-boob-who-needs-to-learn-manners\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/12\/18\/bret-stephens-is-a-graceless-classless-boob-who-needs-to-learn-manners\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has no class<\/a>, no integrity, and he\u2019s a terrible writer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Eddie Scarry is the D.C. columnist at The Federalist and author of &#8220;<a href=\"\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0FR8XCMYC\">Traitors: The Democrat Party\u2019s Collapse into Anti-American Filth<\/a>.&#8221;<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Eddie Scarry<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eScarry\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@eScarry<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/eddiescarry\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags no-print bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2020-2\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2020<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/blm\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">BLM<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/bret-stephens\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Bret Stephens<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Joe Biden<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Kamala Harris<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/new-york-times\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">New York Times<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/woke\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">woke<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bret Stephens, once a Biden supporter, demands AOC apologize<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":493,"featured_media":2647026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Bret-Stephens.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5447,47062,32171],"class_list":["post-2647025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-apology","tag-bret-stephens","tag-political-commentary"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Bret-Stephens.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/493"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2647025"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2647033,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647025\/revisions\/2647033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2647026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2647025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2647025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2647025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}