Another Washington Post staffer is ditching the paper over owner Jeff Bezos’ recent changes to its coverage. Eugene Robinson, the longtime political columnist, told staff on Thursday he is leaving WaPo after 45 years due to the “significant shift” Bezos recently implemented, where the opinion section will focus on the “two pillars” of personal liberties and free markets.
“I wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to leave The Post. The announced ‘significant shift’ in our section’s mission has spurred me to decide that it’s time for my next chapter,” Robinson said in an email to staff that was obtained by The New York Times, the first outlet to report the news. “I wish nothing but the very best for the paper and for all of you. I won’t be a stranger, and I’ll be reading your unparalleled work every single day.”
Robinson is the third WaPo staffer to leave the paper since Bezos made the change in late February. Ex-opinion editor David Shipley quit as soon as Bezos announced his revamp, and veteran WaPo columnist Ruth Marcus left in March, after she said publisher Will Lewis “spiked” a column “expressing concern” over owner Bezos’ new direction for the opinion section.
“Our sincerest congratulations to beloved Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson on his retirement,” a Washington Post spokesperson told TheWrap. “For 45 years, his reporting and commentary spanned continents and beats, earning countless recognitions, including a Pulitzer Prize. Eugene’s strong perspective and impeccable integrity have regularly shaped our public discourse, cementing his legacy as a leading voice in American journalism.”
Beyond his work at WaPo, Robinson is routinely seen on NBC News and MSNBC, where he is a chief political analyst. Robinson joined The Post in 1980 and started writing for the Op-Ed section in 2005. He has been one of the paper’s most vocal critics of President Trump, calling him a “weak, narcissistic man” in 2017 and, more recently in February, said he “tramples the Constitution, vandalizes the federal government and trashes our vital international alliances.”
His exit comes as a number of WaPo staffers have been upset with Bezos for steering his paper towards a more centrist position. The billionaire was criticized by many journalists, including former executive editor Marty Baron, for blocking WaPo’s editorial board from endorsing Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Bezos in December said it was the “right decision” because endorsing Harris would have added a “perception of bias” to their coverage.
“We just decided that, you know, it wasn’t going to help,” Bezos said. “It wasn’t going to influence the election either way.”
Meanwhile, others have complimented Bezos for the changes at WaPo. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt last month said she would like to “commend” Bezos for revamping his newsroom and WaPo’s approach to opinion pieces.
“It appears that the mainstream media, including The Post, is finally learning that having disdain for more than half of the country who supports this president does not help you sell newspapers. It’s not a very good business model,” she said.
