A Washington Post cartoonist announced that she was leaving the paper this week after it rejected her cartoon of Amazon founder and owner Jeff Bezos, aimed at President-elect Trump.
The Post’s editorial cartoonist, Ann Telnaes, wrote on her Substack page Friday that she was resigning from the outlet, accusing it of running the cartoon because it was critical of the billionaire.
In the article, “Why I’m Leaving the Washington Post,” Telnaes said, “I’ve had editorial feedback and productive conversations — and some disagreements — about cartoons I’ve submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed for because of who or what I chose to direct my pen. Until now.”
The cartoonist shared a rough draft of the unpublished cartoon, which depicted Bezos and other unspecified wealthy businessmen giving and holding bags of money to the incoming president. Sitting on the floor next to them was Mickey Mouse, apparently a representation of Disney’s alleged subservience to Trump.
Telnaes explained her cartoon, saying, “The cartoon that was killed criticizes billionaire tech and media executives who have done everything to curry favor with President-elect Trump.”
Despite a rocky relationship between the two over the years, Bezos has voiced support for Trump following his 2024 election victory. In the run-up to Election Day, the Amazon owner told reporters he was “very optimistic” about Trump’s regulatory agenda. Trump.
Bezos recently pledged to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. He also dined with the future president at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in December.
Bezos also angered liberals, including Post staffers, shortly before the election by deciding that the newspaper would not make a presidential endorsement.
Other prominent tech moguls have met with Trump in the months since his victory, including Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Telnae’s reference to Disney appears to be a dig at the company cited as a factor behind ABC News’ recent $15 million deal with Trump earlier this month.
In her Substack article, Telnaes went on to state her belief that the Post printed the cartoon because of its political point. She wrote, “To be clear, there have been times when sketches have been rejected or revisions requested, but never because of the inherent point of view in cartoon commentary. This is a game changer…and dangerous to a free press.”
“As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical work. So I have decided to leave the Post,” she added.
However, Washington Post editorial page editor David Shipley — who admitted he made the decision to feature it himself — denied her charge that The Post killed the cartoon for political reasons, saying in a recent statement that he he did it to avoid “repeating” history.
He said, “Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malevolent force. My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same subject as the cartoon and already planned another column – this one a satire – for publication. The only prejudice was against repetition.”
Telnaes has not yet responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Image Source : nypost.com