Scientific American Editor Resigns After Calling Some Trump Supporters Fascists

The editor in chief of Scientific American, the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States, has resigned more than a week after she posted comments on social media that called some supporters of President-elect Donald J.Trump “bigoted” and “fascists.”On election night, Laura Helmuth, who served as editor in chief of the publication for more than four years, posted a series of expletive-laden comments on Bluesky, a social platform.In one comment, she apologized to younger voters for Generation X being full of “fascists.” In another, she wrote, “Solidarity to everybody whose meanest, dumbest, most bigoted high-school classmates are celebrating early results,” according to screenshots of the posts.The posts, which have since been deleted, drew outrage from Trump supporters across social media.

Many, including Elon Musk, accused her of failing to act as an impartial journalist and instead engaging in political activism.Some demanded her resignation.On Thursday, Ms.

Helmuth said that she would be leaving the magazine to “take some time to think about what comes next” and, she added, “go bird-watching.” Her resignation announcement, which she shared on Bluesky, did not reference her previous posts.Ms.Helmuth had previously apologized for her posts, which she said were “offensive and inappropriate.” She attributed her comments to “shock and confusion about the election results” and said that they did not reflect the position of Scientific American or her colleagues.ImageScientific American endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time in 2020, when it supported Joseph R.

Biden Jr.Credit...Scientific AmericanKimberly Lau, the president of Scientific American, said in a statement that Ms.Helmuth had “decided to move on from her position” and thanked her for her time at the magazine.Ms.

Helmuth declined to comment.Scientific American, which was founded in 1845 and reaches more than 10 million people around the wo...