Ann Telnaes, longtime Washington Post cartoonist, has resigned from her position at the newspaper after one of her cartoons was pulled from publication for criticizing President Donald Trump. Telnaes, who has been with the Post since 2008, cited concerns about freedom of speech and the danger of bowing to pressure from powerful figures.
In her resignation post on Substack, Telnaes expressed her shock at the censorship. “I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now,” she wrote. The cartoon in question depicted a group of media and tech moguls, including the Post’s owner Jeff Bezos, bowing down and offering money to a likeness of Trump, a commentary on their efforts to curry favor with the president-elect.
The decision to pull the cartoon was made by Washington Post Editorial Page editor David Shipley, who claimed that publishing it would be repetitive, as they had already scheduled a satirical column on the same topic. However, Telnaes argued that this reasoning was not valid as her cartoon was offering a different perspective on the issue.
Ann Telnaes, who has worked at The Washington Post as an editorial cartoonist since 2008, says her cartoon below was killed — and now she has quit the paper pic.twitter.com/ThHbQiATOS
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 4, 2025
This incident comes amidst growing concerns about the media’s relationship with influential figures and the impact it could have on free press. Telnaes warned that trying to appease an “autocrat-in-waiting” like Trump would only serve to undermine the principles of a free press.
Interestingly, this is not the first time the Washington Post and Bezos have come under scrutiny for their perceived bias. In the 2024 presidential election, Bezos blocked the paper from endorsing a candidate, stating that such endorsements make media outlets appear biased. However, many saw this as a move to appease Trump and his followers.
.@AnnTelnaes resigned after the Washington Post editorial page killed her cartoon. It’s worth a share.
Big Tech executives are bending the knee to Donald Trump and it’s no surprise why: Billionaires like Jeff Bezos like paying a lower tax rate than a public school teacher. pic.twitter.com/xv6e5dJVf4
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 4, 2025
With Telnaes’s resignation, the incident has caused a stir among the public, with some coming out in support of the cartoonist and criticizing the “broligarchy” of powerful men who try to manipulate the media for their own interests.
This is just another example of the liberal media silencing voices that do not align with their agenda, a dangerous trend that must be stopped. As Telnaes wrote, media outlets and their owners have a responsibility to protect freedom of speech, not bow down to pressure from those in power.