More Than 100 Politico Staffers Reportedly Send Letter to Publisher Over Ben Shapiro’s Edition of Playbook

More than 100 Politico staffers have reportedly signed a letter to publisher Robert Allbritton over the decision to allow right-wing firebrand Ben Shapiro guest-author the Playbook newsletter for one day, according to a Daily Beast report.

Shapiro, who has made derogatory remarks about Muslims, African-Americans, women, LGBTQ people, and secular Jewish people, led the January 14 edition of Playbook with a essay titled “The real reason most republicans opposed impeachment,” taking shots at existing Playbook readers, and arguing that conservatives believe that Trump supporters will face “repression everywhere from social media to employment.”

The decision to publish Shapiro faced a near-immediate internal – and external – backlash.

In the letter, staffers expressed disgust with the decision, reportedly criticizing the choice to let Shapiro guest-write Playbook and saying it had “demoralized a substantial portion of the newsroom,” according to the Daily Beast.