Pulitzer-Winning Cartoonist Ann Telnaes Resigns After Washington Post Rejects Satirical Trump Cartoon

The effects of the Republican Party candidate Donald Trump in the US Presidential elections can be seen all around; the effects are already apparent in the fourth estate.

In what could be seen as a domino effect of Trump’s victory, Washington Post’s Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes has put in her papers after the Post refused to publish a satirical cartoon that depicted a bunch of billionaires, including Meta Chief Mark Zuckerberg, Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, and Walt Disney Co mascot Mickey Mouse, along with the outlet’s owner, Jeff Bezos, kneeling in obeisance before what was supposed to be Donald Trump.

Ann Telnaes Steps Down Over Rejected Trump Satire

Ann Telnaes wrote on Friday in an online post on the Substack platform:

“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.”

New York Times’ Post opinions editor, David Shipley, defended the decision to disallow the publication of the cartoon because it was repetitive.

He added that the paper had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon, and another satirical column was scheduled.

On her part, Ann Telnaes said that the cartoon lays bare how the high and mighty of the media and tech industry are bending backwards to curry favour with Trump.

Trump had already stated that he feels the US media is biased and does not favour the nation.

This is not the first time that Bezos and the Post have found themselves amid a controversy.

Earlier, the outlet prevented the editorial team from endorsing Kamala Harris’ candidature.

Los Angeles Times head Soon-Shiong had done likewise and prevented its editorial board from publishing an endorsement of Harris.

The move led to massive backlash, and both publications lost 200,000 subscriptions.

Ann Telnaes’ accusation is not without substance.

After Donald Trump’s victory, Meta head Zuckerberg dined with Trump at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and his company also donated $1 million to Trump’s electoral campaign. Earlier, Trump had criticized Zuckerberg and the Facebook platform for being “anti-Trump.”

Also, ABC News, a part of the Disney conglomerate, and its anchor George Stephanopoulos paid $15 million into a foundation established by the former US President to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump against the media network.

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