POLITICS

Exiting N.Y. Daily News Editor Targets Trump in 23-Post Tweetstorm

1:43 PM PST 12/6/2016 by Jackie Strause

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Donald Trump

"We can pretend this all isn’t as bad as it seems. That it will turn around. That it’s just for show. Or we can be realistic," wrote departing executive editor Rich O'Malley.

The traditional goodbye email simply wasn't going to cut it.

New York Daily News executive editor Rich O'Malley took to his Twitter on Tuesday to announce that, after 11 years, he is exiting the newspaper. In a series of tweets — 23 in total — O'Malley sent out personal notes of thanks before launching into the reason for his public message: Donald Trump.

"We can pretend this all isn’t as bad as it seems. That it will turn around. That it’s just for show. Or we can be realistic," he wrote, 10 tweets in, after asking his followers to "please listen now."

He then said the "man who will be our President will never hear the better angels of our national psyche." O'Malley never mentions Trump by name, referring to him only as PEOTUS.

He goes on to say that Trump and his advisers "have an agenda to remake us [an] antiquated vision of what America should be" and urged anyone reading his posts to "do what you can."

Referencing Trump's constant tweeting and retweeting — something Saturday Night Live tackled in Saturday's cold open sketch of Alec Baldwin's Trump sharing posts from random supporters — O'Malley imagined what Trump's tweeting will be like when he officially inherits the @POTUS Twitter handle.

"PeOTUS is manually retweeting 16-yr-olds to scold the media for not disproving a lie. My God. Wait until that’s coming from @potus," he wrote. He later added, "We’re facing stupidity/hate/fear as never before."

He continued, "At best, PeOTUS thinks this is a game show. But the parting gifts are shitty. And you don’t wanna know what 'at worst' looks like."

Throughout the election cycle, the daily New York tabloid featured cover after cover aimed at Trump, including a headline reading "Grab Them By the P—y" after his leaked Access Hollywood tape and another, "House of Horrors," the day after Trump's win.

Its rival tabloid institution, The New York Post, previously reported that O'Malley was one of the top editors at the Daily News to apply for a voluntary buyout package amid rumors of layoffs at the paper.

See O'Malleys tweets below.