A pro-Trump columnist quit his position at The Washington Post after dramatically storming out of an interview live on air.
Hugh Hewitt, a veteran conservative pundit, slammed fellow columnists Jonathan Capehart and Ruth Marcus for running “the most unfair election ad” and said that he would not be returning.
The outburst came during a discussion on The Post’s “First Look” show, live on Friday, on a lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania. The suit, filed in Bucks County, claimed voters submitting mail-in ballots in person have been turned away.
During the interview Marcus stated that Trump was attempting to “go to every courtroom he can in America where it’s relevant to make whatever arguments he can, no matter how far-fetched.”
She was interrupted by Hewitt, who has been a regular contributor of opinion pieces for the Post, who berated her for not reporting “the whole story.”
“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,” he said. “So yes, [Trump] is upset about Bucks County, but he was right, and he won in court. That’s the story.”
After an awkward pause, Capehart told Hewitt: “I don’t appreciate being lectured about reporting Hugh when many times you come here saying lots of things that aren’t based in fact.”
“I won’t come back Jonathan, I’m done,” Hewitt shot back furiously, tearing out his in-ear headset. “This is the most unfair election ad I’ve ever been a part of.” He then stood up from his chair and left the room.
A spokesperson for The Post declined to comment on Hewitt’s departure, though Fox News reported his decision to leave his role at the outlet earlier on Friday.
The Post has faced turmoil for the past week, after the paper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, decided not to endorse a candidate in the presidential race. Multiple people have resigned from the paper, and some 250,000 readers reportedly canceled their subscriptions.
Hewitt’s outburst comes following a growing amount of litigation surrounding the 2024 election emerging in Pennsylvania – the largest of the swing states, with 19 electoral votes going to the victor.
Following the lawsuit from Trump’s campaign and GOP senate candidate David McCormick’s campaign, a state judge agreed that voters can have more time to apply for and return mail-in ballots in Bucks County.
Long lines of voters previously drew complaints that the state was suppressing votes. The state does not have in-person early voting options, so voters were queuing for mail-in ballots to be collected and returned in person.
Voters in Bucks County were given an extended deadline to apply for those ballots until the end of the day on Friday.
Due to its value as a prominent swing state, Pennsylvania has drawn a flurry of Republican litigation alleging wrongdoing — just as Trump’s campaign and his allies did in 2020.
Election law experts claim that with the new lawsuits, Trump and his allies are trying to lay the groundwork to challenge the results, if the former president loses.
Additional reporting by Alex Woodward
