Trump blasts shuttering Weekly Standard as ‘pathetic and dishonest,’ rips editor Kristol
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Many conservatives may have been saddened by Friday’s news that the Weekly Standard, a publication that has existed for 23 years, will be ceasing operations this month. But don’t count President Trump among them.
In a Twitter message Saturday, Trump blasted the magazine as “pathetic and dishonest,” and slammed its editor-at-large, William Kristol, as a “failed prognosticator.”
THE WEEKLY STANDARD ANNOUNCES IT WILL FOLD AFTER 23 YEARS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kristol had written in July: “Donald Trump is in many ways a bad president — bad for the country, bad for conservatism, bad for the Republican party. His sway over party and policy should be limited as much as is feasible and his dominance of our politics not extended any longer than necessary.”
“May it rest in peace!” the president wrote of the magazine Kristol co-founded.
Kristol appeared concerned that the president's Twitter message wasn't sent to him directly.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Parent company Clarity Media’s CEO Ryan McKibben told staffers Friday morning that the magazine would print its final issue Monday.
McKibben said the publication “has been hampered by many of the same challenges that countless other magazines and newspapers across the country have been wrestling with,” and ultimately it needed to make the tough decision to close.
Others reported that McKibben and associates at Clarity preferred to shutter the Standard rather than sell it, in order to bolster a weekly launched by the Washington Examiner, which, like the Standard, is owned by Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Whether any Standard employees would be hired at the new weekly was unclear, the Daily Beast reported.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.