Pulitzer-Winning Photographer Quits Ford Foundation Board in Protest of Cheney Snub
A celebrated photojournalist who was the chief White House photographer during Gerald Ford’s administration resigned on Tuesday from the foundation that bears the former president’s name, accusing it of succumbing to the “tidal wave of timidity and fear” created by Donald Trump.
David Hume Kennerly said in a letter that the organization’s board of trustees had rejected Liz Cheney for its top annual honor, the Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service, over “agita” that Trump might retaliate should he win re-election.
“Some of you raised the specter of being attacked by the Internal Revenue Service and losing the foundation’s tax-exempt status as retribution for selecting Liz for the award,” he wrote in the letter, which was first obtained by Politico. “The historical irony was completely lost on you.”