NO LAUGHING MATTER

Washington Post Cartoon Shows Democracy in the Dark

The title of Ann Telnaes' cartoon is the Post’s Trump-era slogan.

The Washington Post’s Trump-era slogan, “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” was the title of a simple and effective cartoon in that same paper Friday afternoon, hours after its billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, refused to allow its editorial board to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. The cartoon, by Pulitzer Prize-winning illustrator Ann Telnaes, shows streaks of dark paint that have been brushed to form no discernible shape. The absence of what would be considered a typical editorial cartoon follows the absence of the Post’s presidential endorsement--the first such instance in the past 36 years. “Democracy Dies in Darkness” first appeared on the storied paper‘s website about a month into Donald Trump’s presidency. Former Post executive editor Marty Baron alluded to it when he panned Bezos' decision as “cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty.” The lack of an endorsement, Baron also said, was an invitation for Trump to “further intimidate” the media.

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William VaillancourtReporter

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