The New York Observer’s cozy relationship with Donald Trump has resulted in the resignation of its top political reporter, who told the Washington Examiner’s media desk Wednesday that the paper’s ability to cover the 2016 presidential election fairly has been seriously compromised.
Ross Barkan’s sudden exit from the newspaper, however, isn’t just about its recent endorsement of the casino tycoon, he stressed in a phone call.
“It had been building up for more than a week. More like months,” he said. “It’s definitely a buildup of a variety of factors.”
“The endorsement definitely did not unfold like I thought it would, given that we are so closely tied to Trump,” he added. “At the same time, the endorsement wasn’t the single factor.”
The paper’s recent pro-Trump rhetoric, and its ties to the 2016 presidential candidate (its publisher, Jared Kushner, is his son-in-law), has made it impossible for him to continue working there, he added.
And he said he’s not the only one at the Observer who feels conflicted by its association with Trump.
“It has been difficult. I’ll say that, it has definitely been difficult,” he claimed. “It’s a difficult situation for me, for some of my colleagues, and I don’t think it has been handled perhaps the way it should have been handled.”
The Observer’s editorial board threw its support behind Trump Tuesday, declaring that he is the only GOP candidate who can “make America great again.”
Restoring America to its former glory, “will only be accomplished by someone who has constructed great skyscrapers and gem-like skating rinks; started businesses, written best sellers and built brands. Tried and succeeded and sometimes failed. But who has gotten up and tried again,” the board wrote.
The Observer’s endorsement came not long after it was revealed that its editor-in-chief, former speechwriter Ken Kurson, had quietly coauthored an address that Trump delivered in March to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Trump’s son-in-law, Kushner, also helped draft the AIPAC speech.
Given that Barkan’s resignation came less than 24 hours after the Observer endorsed Trump, many in the press suggested his decision was likely a response to the editorial board’s vocal support for the real estate mogul.
But Barkan, who has been with the Observer for three years, told the Examiner that his exit is the result of several months of buildup, including the AIPAC speech.
“I was blindsided by the endorsement. I had thought that given our ties to Trump, that maybe we would be neutral,” he said. “But the AIPAC speech was really more troubling, from a journalist’s perspective. The editor-in-chief should not be reviewing a speech for a presidential candidate, no matter who that presidential candidate is: Trump, Bernie, Kasich, I don’t care.”
The endorsement came as such a surprise, and he tendered his resignation despite not having any immediate employment opportunities.
“I don’t have anything lined up,” Barkan said. “No jobs at the moment. It’s ‘to be determined.’ I will see what happens.”
“You have to act on your intuition and your conscience. That’s what I felt,” he added.
