I don't see the headline as making a claim to authority because the speaker used to believe differently. His view on the issue will be different because he's be

I don't see the headline as making a claim to authority because the speaker used to believe differently. His view on the issue will be different because he's been on both sides, and those sorts of views can help us to see how to bridge gaps in understanding. The value is not that he's more right, but that he has a different perspective. The headline was written by a poor winner, but that doesn't make the content less interesting.