Laura Helmuth is resigning as editor-in-chief of Scientific American magazine following an expletive-filled rant about Donald Trump voters.
Posting on Bluesky, an X rival, Helmuth said Thursday that she’s “decided to leave Scientific American after an exciting 4.5 years as editor in chief” without mentioning her previous comments.
In a series of now-deleted posts on the same platform, she called Trump voters the “meanest, dumbest, most bigoted” group and “fascists” following the former president’s reelection last week. Her comments went viral on X and were criticized on the increasingly right-wing platform.
Helmuth had apologized in a separate post, calling them “offensive and inappropriate” and that they don’t “reflect the position” of Scientific American.
“I respect and value people across the political spectrum,” Helmuth wrote. “These posts, which I have deleted, do not reflect my beliefs; they were a mistaken expression of shock and confusion about the election results.”
First, of course the comments reflect Helmuth’s beliefs. Is there anyone, including Helmuth, who thinks otherwise? Second, Helmuth is correct that the comments are “offensive and inappropriate.” I don’t mind the former—she can say and think what she likes and who cares who gets offended?—but the latter is a problem because she’s the editor-in-chief of a supposedly non-partisan scientific journal.
In fact, that Scientific American has become overtly political in recent years is likely due to Helmuth, and by that score, it’s great that she’s on the way out. We might share some political views, but whether we do or not, that’s not the point of science or of a scientific journal.