Scientific American editor faces calls to resign after tirade against Trump voters

Calls for the resignation of the editor of the Scientific American, the country’s oldest magazine, have grown since Laura Helmuth claimed online that those who voted for Donald Trump are "fascists," "bigoted," and "sexist" after Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

"Every four years I remember why I left Indiana (where I grew up) and remember why I respect the people who stayed and are trying to make it less racist and sexist. The moral arc of the universe isn’t going to bend itself," editor-in-chief Helmuth posted on Bluesky. 

Another post read, "Solidarity to everybody whose meanest, dumbest, most bigoted high-school classmates are celebrating early results because f*ck them to the moon and back." In a separate post, Helmuth wrote, "I apologize to younger voters that my Gen X is so full of f*cking fascists."

The magazine, which has been continuously published since 1845, according to the Daily Mail, had not endorsed a presidential candidate until 2020, when it endorsed Joe Biden. In 2024, the magazine endorsed Kamala Harris.

Helmuth deleted the posts and issued an apology after they received significant attention, writing, "I made a series of offensive and inappropriate posts on my personal Bluesky account on election night, and I am sorry."

"I respect and value people across the political spectrum. These posts, which I have deleted, do not reflect my beliefs; they were a mistaken expression of shock and confusion about the election results. These posts of course do not reflect the position of Scientific American or my colleagues. I am committed to civil communication and editorial objectivity."

In response to Helmuth’s posts, users of the platform, which markets itself as being a competitor to X, called for her to be fired or resign.

"Wow you should fire your unhinged editor. She needs a long rest somewhere padded," one user wrote, according to the Daily Mail. Another user wrote, "And she needs to lay off the red wine. Her teeth are horribly stained."

"She should be stripped of membership for any science organization she’s a member of. Trust in science is tanking because of these egregious, pathetic, bigoted scientists," one user said.

"She shows that science today isn’t objective," another added.