Rubin was a
conservative, 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 Democrat." Rubin has supported the
Likud government in Israel, and has been a critic of
Hamas and of the
Palestine Liberation Organization 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 were carried out by Islamic jihadists. Columnist
James Fallows of
The Atlantic 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
Wired 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, 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 as "a dog whistle to the far right", and designed to please his "
climate change denial, right-wing base that revels in scientific illiteracy." Previously, after
Barack Obama 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 as Israel's capital and moving its embassy from
Tel Aviv 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 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". 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, 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 ==