Washington Post columnist Rubin claims that Jeff Bezos' actions have contributed to Trump's threat to democracy, and she resigns in protest.

• As she resigned, a Washington Post columnist warned that President-elect Donald Trump, whom she referred to as "the most acute threat to American democracy," was being enabled by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his associates.
• Jennifer Rubin criticized ABC and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as targets and revealed the launch of a new media outlet, The Contrarian, on Substack.
• Millions of dollars have been contributed to Trump's inauguration by tech companies such as Meta and Amazon, along with others in the industry.

President-elect Donald Trump is the "most acute threat to American democracy," according to a Washington Post columnist who resigned Monday, claiming that founder Jeff Bezos and his associates are supporting him.

After a series of Trump-friendly moves by billionaire Bezos and other big tech companies, Jennifer Rubin, a columnist for The Post, has become the latest employee to resign.

In an interview with CNBC on Monday, Rubin stated that she believed it was crucial to publicly criticize Bezos, The Post, and other outlets for adopting what she described as a "bent knee" approach to Trump.

Rubin's scathing criticism, directed at CEO Mark Zuckerberg and "corporate-owned cable TV networks," was announced as she launched a new media outlet, The Contrarian, on Substack.

The Contrarian will offer fearless and distinctive reported opinion and cultural commentary, without phony balance, as she stated.

Rubin sharply distinguished her new platform from her previous employer and other media outlets, many of which she claimed have "eagerly sought out Trump-friendly commentators."

Rubin stated that owners of major media outlets, who are both corporate and billionaires, have betrayed their audience's loyalty and undermined journalism's mission to defend, protect, and advance democracy.

On Monday, CNBC requested comment from spokespeople for Bezos and The Post regarding her statement.

"The owners and management of The Washington Post, who are both billionaires, have compromised the values that are central to the newspaper's mission and the journalism industry as a whole, including integrity, courage, and independence."

"Rubin wrote that he could not justify staying at The Post because Jeff Bezos and his allies were supporting and enabling the greatest threat to American democracy, Donald Trump, at a time when a free and vibrant press was crucial for democracy's survival."

In 2020, Rubin, who had long identified as a conservative, stated that she no longer considered herself one, asserting that "there is no conservative movement or party today," and that "the Republican Party is thoroughly infused with racism and intellectually corrupted by right-wing nationalism."

Since the fall, Bezos has been facing criticism for actions perceived as favoring Trump, such as canceling a Post editorial page endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, donating $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund, and visiting Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla.

On the day that The Post's endorsement was canceled, Trump met with executives from Blue Origin, including CEO David Limp, in Austin, Texas.

"It was inconceivable that Katharine Graham, the former Post publisher, would send a $1M check to either Lyndon Johnson or Richard Nixon," Rubin stated, according to her account.

During his first term, Trump criticized Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, and The Post, accusing them of being his political enemies. In a 2019 lawsuit, Amazon claimed that it lost a $10 billion cloud computing contract with the Pentagon due to Trump's improper pressure.

Ann Telnaes, a former Post cartoonist, resigned from the newspaper after it declined to publish a cartoon of her depicting Bezos, Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Los Angeles Times Publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong kneeling before Trump as the president-elect loomed over them.

Mickey Mouse, the mascot of Walt Disney, was also shown in the cartoon. Disney, which owns ABC News and recently settled a defamation lawsuit with Trump by agreeing to donate $15 million to his presidential foundation and museum.

The LA Times had planned to endorse Harris, but soon-Shiong, like Bezos, killed the endorsement.

Trump's inaugural fund is receiving a $1 million donation each from Meta and Altman.

The number of billionaires who have donated to Trump after being criticized by him is noteworthy, according to Rubin's statement to CNBC.

"How many billions of dollars is enough?" Rubin inquired. "I believed these individuals were well-positioned to resist authoritarianism, but they surprisingly complied the fastest."

""The government's financial interests are crucial to Silicon Valley's success," she stated."

Rubin stated that they became billionaires by not considering others.