WaPo’s Pretend Conservative Resigns — And Rage-Quits X — Over Trump-Musk Alliance

The Washington Post’s longtime “conservative blogger” Jennifer Rubin announced on Monday that she had resigned from the paper, effective immediately, to launch a new outlet that was “not owned by anybody.”

Rubin, who became an outspoken advocate for Democrats in her efforts to “resist” Donald Trump, lionized President Joe Biden until the very end, and then went so far as to fawn over Vice President Kamala Harris even before she was foisted on the Democratic Party as their de facto nominee.

But the media landscape has begun to change with Trump’s re-election — and even some legacy media personalities and outlets have started to show signs of coming around, resigning themselves to the fact that if they don’t at least attempt to speak to Trump and his allies in good faith, they may find themselves ousted by podcasters, citizen journalists, and other less traditional media outlets.

Rubin, according to her Monday announcement, is having none of that — in addition to launching her new outlet, she declared her intention to leave X altogether in protest of Trump’s alliance with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.

“BIG NEWS. I have left the Post. Corporate and billionaire media are failing to meet the moment,” she claimed in her post to X. “With @normeisen.bsky.social I’m launching @contrariannews.bsky.social. We’ll have politics but also cooking, humor, film and even pets. Please subscribe and join the fight. And because I want to be true to my values I am leaving X. I refuse to enable the Elon-Trump presidency.”

In a lengthier post via her substack page, Rubin offered more by way of explanation — specifically blaming WaPo’s billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, for bending the knee to Trump and Musk.

Corporate and billionaire owners of major media outlets have betrayed their audiences’ loyalty and sabotaged journalism’s sacred mission — defending, protecting and advancing democracy. The Washington Post’s billionaire owner and enlisted management are among the offenders. They have undercut the values central to The Post’s mission and that of all journalism: integrity, courage, and independence. I cannot justify remaining at The Post. Jeff Bezos and his fellow billionaires accommodate and enable the most acute threat to American democracy—Donald Trump—at a time when a vibrant free press is more essential than ever to our democracy’s survival and capacity to thrive.

Rubin went on to name a number of her collaborators at the new outlet — George Conway and Laurence Tribe, among others — before taking another swing at Bezos on her way out the door.

In closing, I want to reiterate that I have been honored to work for over fourteen years alongside the finest writers and editors in journalism. Above all, I was blessed to work for The Post under the Graham Family ownership and Fred Hiatt’s leadership of the editorial section. My admiration for their collective integrity, dedication to craft, courage, patriotism, and decency is boundless. But when new leaders sully the reputation of institutions entrusted to them and the fate of democracy is in the balance, we all must reevaluate our careers and our obligations to the world’s most essential nation.

“History calls us all,” she claimed.

Rubin signaled the coming move in December when she criticized elected Democrats — who are in the minority in both the Senate and the House — for suggesting that they might work with Trump during the coming administration.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT IN ’25 WITH 25% OFF DAILYWIRE+ ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS WITH CODE DW25

“A depressingly high number of elected Democrats are declaring their intent to find ‘common ground’ with President-elect Donald Trump and his crackpot Cabinet picks. Their naive, tone-deaf declarations epitomize an infatuation with bipartisanship for bipartisanship’s sake. Sometimes, it’s better not to bend the knee before the bidding even gets underway,” she complained.

She also whined loudly — and often — about the fact that her own outlet was among those that had refused to offer an outright endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.

“If a news organization offers up financial tribute or shies from endorsing an opponent, readers and viewers have every right to question its impartiality, aggressiveness and spine. The sort of behavior we have witnessed from many legacy outlets will not help win back audiences who have lost faith in them. (Progressives are horrified; right-wingers will never patronize them.) Maintaining financial and personal distance from the president, whom news organizations are obligated to investigate and hold accountable, should not be difficult,” she said. “If people in positions of public trust, whether in elected office or in media, do not demonstrate — in deed and word — sufficient courage, fidelity to democracy and resistance to authoritarian manipulation, we will tip into a kakistocracy without much of a fight. Sadly, the past few weeks have not been encouraging.”

Her insistence on absolute opposition to Trump led to repeated demands of absolute fealty to Democrats — despite the fact that for years, she had claimed to be the WaPo’s “conservative” voice.

“The idea we have to understand how or why Trump won to prepare to fight him is a category error,” Rubin said just after the 2024 election.

 

Related News