Trump’s war on Stars and Stripes: Why has military newspaper chief quit?

Max D Lederer Jr, the longtime publisher of the United States military publication Stars and Stripes, announced his retirement in a memo to staff on Tuesday. In his memo, Lederer suggested that he had clashed with the administration of US President Donald Trump. He confirmed his resignation in an interview with Stars and Stripes.

Lederer’s departure from his position comes shortly after Stars and Stripes and other military publications broke the story about the mental health crisis roiling the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf. Lederer’s memo suggested that the publication editorially clashed with the Trump administration, which sought greater control over it, The reported. It has “become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of the value and mission of Stars and Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction the leadership of the Department of Defense has for the organisation,” Lederer wrote in his memo.

His comments came after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon accused Stars and Stripes of promoting “woke distractions”. Lederer, who has been the publisher of Stars and Stripes for the past 19 years, is set to retire on September 30. Stars and Stripes, a publication founded in 1861, is a daily newspaper which largely reports on members of the US armed forces and their families.

About 1.4 million people read Stars and Stripes daily, mostly online, according to CBS News. The publication technically operates under the Department of Defense’s organisation, Defense Media Activity (DMA). Its funding and administration are ultimately tied to the Pentagon.

The outlet receives about two-thirds of its funding from the Pentagon, according to recent estimates by multiple US media outlets. It receives the rest of its revenue from subscriptions and advertising. However, Stars and Stripes has sought editorial independence from the Pentagon.

This month, Stars and Stripes, along with outlets such as Military Times and Navy Times, broke the story of struggles being faced by sailors who have been on board the USS Abraham Lincoln for the past nine months. One wife of a serving crewman told the Navy Times that her husband had attempted to jump overboard amid the extended deployment, poor working conditions and mounting mental health concerns. She described her husband as suffering from “severe burnout”.