(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) A Washington Post cartoonist announced Friday that she quit the leftist newspaper after an editor “killed” a cartoon critical of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and President-elect Donald Trump.
The outlet’s former editorial cartoonist, Ann Telnaes, explained her resignation on Substack and shared an image of the spiked cartoon showing Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, kowtowing to Trump.
Washington Post cartoonist quits after paper pulls her cartoon slamming Post owner Bezos https://t.co/QnFFQOSnj9 pic.twitter.com/fXU7IqV7Kh
— New York Post (@nypost) January 5, 2025
“I have had editorial feedback and productive conversations — and some differences — about cartoons I have submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now,” Telnaes wrote in her article titled “Why I’m Quitting the Washington Post.”
Telnaes, who worked for the company since 2008, shared a rough draft of her cartoon, which showed Bezos and other billionaires holding bags of money toward a fat, towering Trump. Disney’s mascot, Mickey Mouse, was also depicted bowing down subserviently before the Republican president-elect.
here it is @washingtonpost
inopportune cartoon, as it should (by @AnnTelnaes ) pic.twitter.com/b2TTXPRAB1
— SnoWhite (@SnoWhitept) January 5, 2025
The leftist political artist explained, “The cartoon that was killed criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump.”
Telnaes’s cartoon came after Bezos directed the Washington Post not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Following Trump’s historic victory, the Amazon founder said he was “very optimistic” about the Republican’s incoming regulatory agenda — a major shift from his opposition during Trump’s first term.
NEW: Jeff Bezos says he's 'very optimistic' about the incoming Trump administration, offering to help streamline regulations and dismissing concerns about Elon Musk leveraging government power against competitors.
"I'm actually very optimistic this time around. He seems to have… pic.twitter.com/0FdTSRFVSc
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) December 5, 2024
In line with other big tech leaders, Bezos recently announced he will donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. He also met the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago in December.
Telnaes continued by accusing the Washington Post of censoring her political speech, saying, “To be clear, there have been instances where sketches have been rejected or revisions requested, but never because of the point of view inherent in the cartoon’s commentary. That’s a game changer…and dangerous for 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 job. So I have decided to leave the Post,” she added.
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Bezos was spotted with his fiancé Lauren Sánchez.
The meeting comes after Bezos pledged to donate $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund.
Bezos joins the list of tech leaders including… pic.twitter.com/RKCuwtMj03
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 19, 2024
Washington Post Editorial Page editor David Shipley admitted he was the person who decided not to run Telnaes’s cartoon, but denied it was because of political reasons, according to the New York Post. Instead, the editor said he wanted to avoid “repetition” of a story the outlet had already touched on.
“Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malign force. My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column — this one a satire — for publication. The only bias was against repetition,” Shipley said.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
