Jennifer Rubin (columnist)
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Jennifer Rubin (born June 11, 1962) is an American political commentator who wrote opinion columns for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
.'' On January 13, 2025, she announced that she had resigned from that newspaper to begin writing at a
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named ''The Contrarian''. Previously she worked at '' Commentary'', PJ Media, '' Human Events'', and '' The Weekly Standard''. Her work has been published in media outlets including ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'', ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'', ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'', ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'', and ''
The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...
''. A conservative political commentator throughout most of her career, she became a vocal critic of President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
and in September 2020, she announced that she no longer identified as a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
. In 2021, she became a staunch advocate of the Biden administration.


Early life and education

She spent her early years in the
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
suburbs of
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
until 1968, when at the age of six, her family moved to California. Rubin earned her
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
and
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
degrees from the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, finishing first in her class in law school.


Career


Labor and employment law

Before moving into opinion writing, Rubin was a labor and employment lawyer in Los Angeles, working for Hollywood studios, for 20 years. She now describes herself as a "recovering lawyer". Commenting on working with her from 2000 to 2005, Hollywood animator and trade union leader Steve Hulett spoke to
Media Matters Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a non-profit left-leaning watchdog journalism organization. It was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Research Center. It seeks to ...
: "She talked like a straight-ahead Hollywood liberal ... She supported Kerry in 2004 and worked closely with Katzenberg, who is a big time Democratic donor. I didn't know what to think when she moved east and started blogging like mad as a conservative. I don't know if it's a marketing pose, or if she really believes it, or what. But it is odd".


Opinion writer

In 2005, she moved to
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...
with her husband and two children. She offered a column to '' The Weekly Standard'' about
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
, and continued doing freelance work for two years before joining '' Commentary''. Rubin's move to ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' in November 2010 became a national news story and was discussed by the media on all sides of the political spectrum, ranging from '' The American Conservative'' and ''The Weekly Standard'', to ''
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'' and ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
''. In welcoming remarks, ''The Washington Post'' editorial page editor Fred Hiatt wrote, "her provocative writing has become 'must read' material for news and policy makers and avid political watchers." In 2011, she was included on the list of "50 Most Influential American Jews" by ''
The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...
''. ''Slate'' blogger
David Weigel David Weigel (born September 26, 1981) is an American journalist and columnist at the news website Semafor (website), ''Semafor''. Weigel previously covered politics for ''The Washington Post,'' ''Slate (magazine), Slate,'' and ''Bloomberg Poli ...
called Rubin "one of the right's most prolific online political writers". The ''Commentary'' editor John Podhoretz writes of Rubin, "She is a phenomenon, especially considering that for the first two decades of her working life, she was not a writer or a journalist but a lawyer specializing in labor issues." In August 2013, former ''Washington Post''
ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...
Patrick Pexton criticized Rubin in an open letter from his new desk at the ''
Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area since 1981. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial ...
'', saying that he received more complaint emails about Rubin than any other ''Post'' employee. Writing that her columns were "at best ... political pornography", he said "Have Fred Hiatt, your editorial page editor—who I like, admire, and respect—fire opinion blogger Jennifer Rubin. Not because she's conservative, but because she's just plain bad." Fred Hiatt, editorial page editor for the ''Post'', responded in a statement to ''Politico'', "I appreciate Patrick's perspective but I think he is quite wrong about Jennifer Rubin. Regular readers of her blog know that she is an indefatigable reporter who is as hard on politicians on the right when she thinks they get things wrong as on the other side."


Political views and commentaries

Rubin was a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
, but she has also stated that the term has been "ruined" by pro-Trump conservatives and that she would "prefer to be a 19th century liberal or a wet Tory". She has described herself as "a Pat Moynihan Democrat, a Scoop Jackson Democrat, an Andrew Cuomo Democrat. I'm not a
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
Democrat." In a 2024 column, she wrote in favor of
radical centrism Radical centrism, also called the radical center, the radical centre, and the radical middle, is a concept that arose in Western world, Western nations in the late 20th century. The ''Political radicalism, radical'' in the term refers to a willi ...
. Rubin has supported the
Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...
government in Israel, and has been a critic of
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
and of the
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
leadership. In November 2011, Rubin retweeted an anti-Hamas blog post that ''Post'' ombudsman Patrick Pexton called "reprehensible". Rubin later told Pexton that she endorsed and shared the views in the Post that "expressed an understandable desire for righteous vengeance against the kidnappers and human rights abusers of Gilad Shalit". Pexton said, "in agreeing with the sentiment, and in spreading it to her 7,000 Twitter followers who know her as a ''Washington Post'' blogger, Rubin did damage to the ''Post'' and the credibility that keeps it afloat." Andrew Sullivan wrote, "we have a blogger at the WaPo endorsing throwing Arab prisoners into the sea to meet righteous divine punishment." ''Post'' editorial page editor Fred Hiatt defended Rubin, saying, "As a general matter I think it isn't wise for me to comment on the work of the ombudsman, who is entitled to his views, and over whom I do not have editorial control. However, I will say this: I think Jennifer is an excellent journalist and a relentless reporter. I think because she has strong views, and because she is as willing to take on her home team, as it were, as the visitors, she comes under more scrutiny than many and is often the target of unjustified criticism. I think she brings enormous value to the Post." In 2011, Rubin wrote a blog post suggesting that the
2011 Norway attacks The 2011 Norway attacks, also called 22 July () or 22/7 in Norway, were two domestic terrorism, domestic terrorist attacks by far-right politics, far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik against the politics of Norway, government, the civil ...
were carried out by Islamic jihadists. Columnist James Fallows of ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'' criticized the piece as "rushed" and noted the subsequent discovery that the attack was carried out by Anders Behring Breivik, a native Norwegian who was not a Muslim. Another ''Atlantic'' columnist, Jeffrey Goldberg, responded that the criticism was unwarranted, noting that other publications such as ''
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'' and even ''The Atlantic'' itself had printed similar speculation; Goldberg concluded: "It is not perverse or absurd for normal people to think of al Qaeda when they hear of acts of mass terrorism. It is logical, in fact, to suspect al Qaeda." In a follow-up column, Rubin acknowledged that early suspicions of a jihadist attack had proven to be mistaken. International Relations scholar Daniel W. Drezner has described her views on foreign policy as neoconservative. Rubin has opposed the Obama administration's policy of détente with Cuba and criticized John McCain for arguing against torture.


Criticism of Donald Trump

Rubin has been one of the most vocal conservative writers to criticize
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, as well as the overall behavior of the Republican Party during Trump's term in office. Rubin denounced Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the 2015
Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...
as "a dog whistle to the far right", and designed to please his "
climate change denial Climate change denial (also global warming denial) is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, refusing to acknowledge, disputing, or fighting the scientific consensus on climate change. Those promoting denial commonly use rhetor ...
, right-wing base that revels in scientific illiteracy." Previously, after
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
had approved the agreement, Rubin characterized it as "nonsense" and argued that it would not achieve anything. Rubin described Trump's 2017 decision to not implement parts of the Iran nuclear deal as the "emotional temper tantrum of an unhinged president." She had previously said that "if you examine the Iran deal in any detail, you will be horrified as to what is in there." Rubin strongly supported the United States officially recognizing
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
as Israel's capital and moving its embassy from
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
to Jerusalem. Early in his presidency, she criticized Trump for not doing so, saying that it was indicative of his tendency to "never keep his word." She concluded that Trump "looks buffoonish in his hasty retreat". In December 2017, after Trump announced that he would move the embassy, she said it was "a foreign policy move without purpose." In a tweet referred to by CNN Media,
Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...
questioned Rubin, writing: "Jen Rubin is WAPO's excuse for conservative," and adding that Rubin's "contempt for all things Trump exposes her and WAPO as
fake news Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information (misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes) claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person ...
".


Domestic policy views

Conor Friedersdorf of ''The Atlantic'' argued that after the 2012 presidential election, Rubin criticized aspects of the
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
campaign that she had previously praised, with Friedersdorf insisting that she had acted as "a disingenuous mouthpiece for her favored candidate". Other columnists had similarly derided her column's blatant support for the Romney campaign, such as Jeffrey Lord of ''The American Spectator'' and Jonathan Chait of ''Intelligencer'', who argued "Rubin has appointed herself unofficial spokesperson for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, using her blog to record a daily procession of Romney's wise choices and brilliant triumphs, along with the pathetic failures of all who challenge him." As well as Romney, Rubin has expressed admiration for
Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...
, writing "If being right is the criterion, Graham has been right about more things on foreign policy for longer than just about anyone in the race". In a November 21, 2013, column, Rubin called on the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) to end its campaign against same-sex marriage.


''The Contrarian''

In January 2025, Rubin and attorney
Norm Eisen Norman L. Eisen (born November 11, 1960) is an American attorney, author, and former diplomat. He is a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a CNN legal analyst, and the co-founder of the States United Democracy Cente ...
began authoring a
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publication entitled ''The Contrarian''.


Personal life

Rubin and her husband, Jonathan, have two sons. The couple moved to Oakton, Virginia, from Los Angeles in 2005.


See also

* Stop Trump movement


References


External links

* Jennifer Rubin
Right Turn
(The Washington Post) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubin, Jennifer 1962 births 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women writers American political journalists American political writers American women bloggers American bloggers American women columnists American women non-fiction writers Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish bloggers Jewish women writers Lawyers from Los Angeles Living people MSNBC people Never Trump movement New Jersey lawyers People from Oakton, Virginia Radical centrist writers The Washington Post columnists UC Berkeley School of Law alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Virginia lawyers Writers from New Jersey Writers from Virginia