Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cartoonist says he’s been fired after Trump cartoons were killed

"Today, after 25 years as the editorial cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I was fired."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial cartoonist Rob Rogers at his drawing desk. Rogers has had the last week's worth of cartoons killed by his editor, an unusual occurrence in the world of editorial cartooning. Read moreRob Rogers / Facebook

Published June 14, 2018, 2:28 p.m. ET

Longtime Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cartoonist Rob Rogers announced on Thursday afternoon that he has been fired by the newspaper, after a number of his recent political cartoons had been killed.

"Sad to report this update: Today, after 25 years as the editorial cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I was fired," Rogers wrote on Twitter.

Rogers, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, said he went on vacation earlier this month after Keith Burris, the newspaper's editorial director, killed six of his cartoons in a row. Since Burris took over in March, Rogers has seen a total of`19 cartoons and ideas spiked, most involving criticism of President Trump.

Burris and publisher John Robinson Block also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Burris, who stoked controversy in January by writing a editorial defending Trump's criticism of immigrants from "s–hole countries," was made the editorial director by Block, who is a Trump supporter. Rogers told the Inquirer and Daily News last week that he had worked under Block for nearly 25 years without any problems until the past few months.

Tracey DeAngelo, the Post-Gazette's chief marketing officer, told CNN's Jake Tapper in a statement earlier this month that the situation with Rogers' cartoons "has little to do with politics, ideology or Donald Trump. It has mostly to do with working together and the editing process." DeAngelo could not be immediately reached Thursday.

Burris issued a brief statement last week to Pittsburgh CBS affiliate KDKA, in which he called the situation "a personnel matter which we are working hard to fix."

He also said: "We have great respect for Rob and understand his importance to the community,"

While Rogers hasn't drawn any new cartoons for the Post-Gazette since June 5, he did pen a cartoon critical of Trump's summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un that was syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate.

The very-public dispute between Rogers and his editors drew the attention of many readers, including Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, who was a frequent target of the cartoonist's work.

"I get excited about the possibility of drawing another cartoon and afflicting the comfortable and speaking truth to power," Rogers said last week. "That's what I'm hoping they'll let me do. And if not, then I'll have to find another way to do it."