Longtime Washington Post columnist Hugh Hewitt quits newspaper
Longtime Washington Post columnist Hugh Hewitt quit the newspaper on Friday, he told Fox News Digital.
Hewitt, a conservative who hosts a nationally syndicated radio show, had been a contributing columnist for the newspaper since 2017 and has written hundreds of pieces.
“I have in fact quit the Post, but I was only writing a column for them every six weeks or so,” Hewitt told Fox News Digital, adding he’d recently offered to write another pro-Trump column for the paper ahead of the election. He informed editorial page editor David Shipley on Friday morning.
His last piece was published on Tuesday. He called on the MAGA movement to evolve if Trump is elected president again. He was a rare pro-Trump voice at the liberal outlet, whose opinion roster and editorial board lean sharply to the left, but his pieces touched on a wide variety of topics.
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Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt has quit his gig as a Washington Post contributing columnist. (Washington Post)
Hewitt quit after a clip of him went viral earlier on Friday when he walked off the Washington Post’s online show, “First Look,” with liberal columnists Jonathan Capehart and Ruth Marcus on its “Washington Post Live” platform. It came during a discussion of former President Trump’s rhetoric around election integrity.
“Does it seem like Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for contesting the election by complaining that cheating was taking place in Pennsylvania?” Capehart asked Marcus. “By suing Bucks County for alleged irregularities, and this is on top of his continual assertion that if he loses, it’s because of cheating.”
Marcus said Trump had been preparing to blame an election loss on cheating for months.
“No election can be fair in Donald Trump’s mind unless Donald Trump wins it,” Marcus said.
As Marcus went on, Hewitt tried to interject, but Capehart snapped, “Let Ruth finish, Hugh.”
“Well, I’ve just got to say, we’re news people, even though it’s the opinion section,” Hewitt said. “It’s got to be reported. Bucks County was reversed by the court and instructed to open up extra days because they violated the law and told people to go home. So that lawsuit was brought by the Republican National Committee, and it was successful. The Supreme Court ruled that [Virginia Gov.] Glenn Youngkin was successful.”
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Former President Trump speaks during Turning Point’s United for Change rally in Las Vegas on Oct. 24. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“We are news people, even though we have opinions, and we have to report the whole story if we bring up part of the story,” Hewitt added. “So, yes, he’s upset about Bucks County, but he was right, and he won in court. That’s the story.”
After a brief pause, Capehart said, “I don’t appreciate being lectured about reporting when, Hugh, many times, you’ve come here saying lots of things that aren’t based in fact.”
Hewitt stood up and said, “I won’t come back, Jonathan. I’m done. I’m done. This is the most unfair election ad I’ve ever been a part of. You guys are working. That’s fine. I’m done.”
With that, he left, leaving a blank corner of the screen while Capehart went back to Marcus to talk about her column saying the stakes of the election were democracy and “decency.”
But then Marcus’ screen froze, and further technical difficulties derailed the show from there.
Reached for comment, a Washington Post spokesperson didn’t respond to a question about Hewitt’s exit but said, “As the newsroom’s live journalism platform, ‘Washington Post Live’ is known for its dynamic conversations and thought-provoking perspectives on top issues of the day, such as this morning’s “First Look” program.”
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Hewitt’s leaving the Post comes on the heels of the decision, at the behest of owner Jeff Bezos, not to endorse a candidate for president this year. The Post’s abdication set off an uproar among staffers and readers, leading to resignations and hundreds of thousands of canceled subscriptions.
Bezos also has reportedly called for having more conservative opinion writers, so Hewitt’s departure is a blow to that goal.
Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. (Getty Images)
The Post was set to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris — it hasn’t backed a Republican for president since it began regularly offering White House endorsements in 1976 — before Bezos pulled the plug, citing efforts to rebuild trust with readers skeptical of the media.
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Not a regular columnist for the newspaper, Hewitt had written only seven pieces for the Post in 2024 after penning 48 pieces for it alone in 2023.
