Ann Telnaes, an acclaimed cartoonist for The Washington Post, resigned after the paper refused to publish one of her cartoons that depicted its owner, Jeff Bezos, bowing to President-elect Donald Trump. Telnaes explained that the cartoon was a critique of billionaires in tech and media who she believes are trying to curry favor with Trump.
The cartoon showed Bezos, along with other media executives and a Mickey Mouse figure symbolizing Disney, bowing to Trump while presenting him with bags of money. Telnaes described her intention as calling out “billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump.”
Some of these executives, including Bezos, have reportedly visited Trump at his Florida club, Mar-a-Lago. Bezos also made headlines for donating $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee and agreeing to stream the inauguration on Amazon Prime. He has publicly expressed optimism about Trump’s second term in office.
Telnaes criticized the move as part of a larger trend of these leaders seeking to protect their government contracts and eliminate regulations. She argued that rejecting her cartoon undermined the principles of a free press. “As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable,” Telnaes wrote on her Substack. “For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave The Post.”
In her resignation announcement, Telnaes acknowledged that her departure might not garner much attention but expressed hope that it would shed light on an important issue. “I doubt my decision will cause much of a stir and that it will be dismissed because I’m just a cartoonist,” she continued. “But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because as they say, ‘Democracy dies in darkness.’”
The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists quickly released a statement supporting Telnaes and condemning The Washington Post’s decision. The organization accused the paper of “political cowardice” and encouraged other cartoonists to share Telnaes’s sketch online with the hashtag #StandWithAnn. “Tyranny ends at pen point,” the association stated. “It thrives in the dark, and The Washington Post simply closed its eyes and gave in like a punch-drunk boxer.”
Responding to the backlash, The Post’s editorial page editor, David Shipley, issued a statement defending the decision. Shipley said the rejection was based on editorial judgment and not an attempt to silence dissent. “We had just published a column on the same topic and were preparing to run another,” Shipley explained. “Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malign force. … The only bias was against repetition.”
The controversy has brought renewed attention to the relationship between Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump. During Trump’s first term, Bezos was often the target of Trump’s criticism. The then-president accused Bezos of using The Washington Post as a tool to attack him, referring to it as the “Amazon Washington Post” and falsely claiming it was avoiding taxes.
Tensions escalated further when Amazon sued the U.S. government, alleging that Trump’s animosity had influenced the Pentagon’s decision to exclude the company from a $10 billion cloud-computing contract. However, recent developments suggest a shift in their dynamic.
In December, Bezos expressed optimism about Trump’s presidency and promised to “save” The Washington Post following backlash over the paper’s decision to stop endorsing presidential candidates. He also pledged substantial support for Trump’s inauguration, including a $1 million donation and streaming the event on Amazon Prime.
Adding to speculation about a warming relationship, Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, were seen dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago just before Christmas. Footage shared on social media showed the couple walking hand-in-hand with Trump as they greeted guests. This marked a notable change from their previously strained relationship.
Telnaes’s resignation has sparked concerns about editorial independence at The Washington Post. Critics argue that rejecting the cartoon raises questions about whether Bezos’s personal interests influenced the decision.
Her departure has prompted broader discussions about the role of media in holding power accountable. While The Washington Post defends its editorial decisions, Telnaes’s resignation has become a rallying point for those advocating for greater freedom and independence in journalism.
To highlight the significance of Telnaes’s resignation, many in the journalism community have voiced concerns about the increasing pressure on editorial teams to self-censor or align with corporate interests. This situation sheds light on the delicate balance between maintaining editorial independence and catering to the financial backers of media outlets. As the media industry continues to change, it’s unclear whether Telnaes’s decision will spark a wider movement to defend the freedom of the press or whether corporate influence will continue to shape the stories we read.
