Jonathan Capehart Slams Washington Post’s Push for ‘Optimism’ Under Trump In Scathing Comments on Exit

MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart exited The Washington Post with some fiery comments about the direction of the paper under President Donald Trump.

Capehart guest-hosted The Last Word on Thursday where he detailed his time with The Post since 2007 and some of his issues with the direction of the paper currently. Capehart accepted a buyout offer this month. Capehart questioned the insistence that The Post report with “optimism” under Trump.

He said:

In February, the owner of the Post decided that the section would focus on the twin pillars of personal liberties and free markets. We in the section received an email from our new editor, which reiterated that and added, it’s also important that we communicate with optimism about this country in particular and the future in general. How can we communicate with optimism about the future in general when we’re living in the here and now, where American democracy is in peril?

Capehart noted that former opinion editor David Shipley resigned following Post owner Jeff Bezos announcing a new editorial direction for the paper.

“We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too, of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others,” Bezos announced in February.

Capehart was a columnist for The Washington Post, and he’s been a vocal Trump critic, calling him a “cancer” on American society in a 2019 op-ed. He is one of several high-profile names to accept buyout offers.

Capehart railed against the administration over their mass deportation efforts, the Trump family’s business dealings, and the president’s battles with federal courts.

“And we’re supposed to ignore it, leave it to others to wrestle with on their news pages and websites? No, no, no,” he said. “The Constitution gives us the inherent, unapologetically patriotic right to rail against such affronts to democracy and the rule of law, and the First Amendment demands it.”

Watch above via MSNBC.