Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from *The Washington Post* after the newspaper refused to publish her cartoon depicting media and technology moguls kneeling before Donald Trump. Telnaes, in a Substack post, explained that while she’d faced editorial feedback before, this was the first time a cartoon was rejected based on its subject matter. The cartoon depicted Jeff Bezos (owner of *The Washington Post*), Mark Zuckerberg, Patrick Soon-Shiong, and Mickey Mouse (representing Disney) kowtowing to Trump, a satire of their perceived attempts to appease the newly re-elected president.
*The Washington Post*’s opinions editor, David Shipley, justified the decision, claiming disagreement with Telnaes’s “interpretation of events” and citing the recent publication of similar columns. He asserted that the decision wasn’t driven by malice, but rather a desire to avoid repetition. Telnaes countered that while revisions were sometimes requested, this was the first time a cartoon was rejected due to its inherent viewpoint, a situation she deemed “dangerous for a free press.”
This incident follows *The Washington Post*’s and the *Los Angeles Times*’s controversial decisions to prevent endorsements of Kamala Harris in the recent presidential election. These decisions, which resulted in a significant loss of subscribers, were criticized as examples of “anticipatory obedience” to Trump, who had previously threatened the media. Trump’s subsequent victory further fueled concerns, with events such as his dinner with Zuckerberg, Meta’s donation to his inauguration fund, and the settlement of a defamation lawsuit with ABC News (owned by Disney) interpreted as gestures of appeasement.
Telnaes’s resignation is a significant event, considering her prominent career, including her 2001 Pulitzer Prize for illustrated reporting and commentary (awarded while working for the *LA Times Syndicate*) and her 2022 Pulitzer Prize final nomination. She was also the first woman to win both the Pulitzer and the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award (2017). Her departure raises serious questions about editorial independence and the potential chilling effect on political satire within major news organizations.