The Times like

[A photograph caption. The New York Times, August 30, 2023.]

I was surprised by the comma, and I was surprised by the like. If I were writing captions, or if I were working at a no-longer-existing Times copy desk, I might cast the sentence like so:

Aides such as Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita (center) have been working for months behind the scenes to ensure that Mr. Trump will have loyal delegates in state parties across the country.

But the Times approves of that like. From The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage (1999):

Like is the preferred expression rather than such as in this kind of phrase: painters like Rubens.

As for such as :

In introducing an example (multinational companies such as Coca-Cola ), the phrase is stilted and should usually be replaced by like. The phrase is slightly less stiff when a noun falls between the words (such companies as PepsiCo ), but like remains more fluid. (Some writers believe that like, in this sense, can be used only to compare a group to an example outside the group: in other words, that Coca-Cola, in the illustration above, should not be introduced by like because it is one of the multinational companies. Usage authorities dispute that rule.)

The 2015 edition bends:

In introducing an example or examples, like and such as are equally acceptable: Impressionist painters like Monet and Degas; expenses such as rent and utilities.

Garner’s Modern English Usage seems to find both like and such as acceptable:

As a preposition, like often takes on the sense “similar to” or “resembling” <I want something like a Degas print>. This use often verges into the sense “as for example” <I enjoy the work of painters like Degas>. Does a reference like that one — such as that one — exclude or include Degas? Do you enjoy the work of painters who resemble Degas but not that of Degas himself? (This is the pedantic position.) Or do you enjoy the work of Degas and others like him? (This is the more usual relaxed position.)

"The pedantic position”: I, a pedant? Nah. I know that “like Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita” includes Wiles and LaCivita. But I do think “such as” is better phrasing. A succinct explanation from Geoff Pope: “Like” implies comparison. “Such as” implies inclusion. Nicely said.

I wonder if I’d have even noticed the Times like without that careless comma after it.