Cartoonist Claims He Was Fired Over Anti-Trump Cartoons

A cartoonist who worked at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for almost 25 years claimed Thursday that he was fired for submitting a series of anti-Trump cartoons, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Rob Rogers said that he took a vacation in early June after the recently appointed editorial director, Keith Burris, vetoed six of his cartoons in a row. “The Post-Gazette’s leadership has veered away from core journalistic values that embrace diverse opinions and public discourse on important issues,” Rogers said in a statement cited by the Inquirer. “I fear that today’s unjustified firing of a dissenting voice on the editorial pages will only serve to diminish an opinion section that was once one of America’s best.” Although Burris—who drew local ire when he wrote an editorial defending Trump’s “s---hole countries” comment—was brought on by a Trump supporter, Rogers reported that he never had any problems prior to Burris’ hiring. The Post-Gazette’s chief human resources officer told the Inquirer that the paper “does not provide details about employment matters, but in light of Mr. Rogers’ public comments today, we do want to acknowledge his long service to the newspaper and our community.”