I think this is a contender for the worst opinion column I’ve read this year - completely pointless, irrelevant and come on Matt couldn’t you think of anything a bit more interesting that happened this week?
Paywall free version https://tinyurl.com/47m2een8
I agree, that source is better to read as straight observation.
But your Times guy is just having a gentle laugh at the whole thing. I don’t like the Times and I don’t read newspapers and I certainly wouldn’t give any of them a subscription, but this isn’t anything to get angry about.