Scientific American’s editor-in-chief, Laura Helmuth, announced her resignation after an election night social media outburst where she called Trump voters “fascists.”

“I’ve decided to leave Scientific American after an exciting 4.5 years as editor-in-chief. I’m going to take some time to think about what comes next (and go birdwatching),” she wrote Thursday on Bluesky.

Upon Donald Trump’s triumph, Ms. Helmuth wrote, “Solidarity to everybody whose meanest, dumbest, most bigoted high school classmates are celebrating early results because [expletive] them to the moon and back,” and apologized to younger voters, saying that others in Gen X are “[expletive] fascists,” according to the New York Post.

On Nov. 7, Ms. Helmuth addressed the since-deleted posts in an apology on Bluesky.

“I made a series of offensive and inappropriate posts on my personal Bluesky account on election night, and I am sorry. … They were a mistaken expression of shock and confusion about the election results. These posts of course do not reflect the position of Scientific American or my colleagues,” she said.

Scientific American, which began publication in 1845 and says it’s “the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States,” is looking for a replacement.

“We thank Laura for her four years leading Scientific American during which time the magazine won major science communications awards and saw the establishment of a reimagined digital newsroom. We wish her well for the future,” Scientific American President Kimberly Lau told CNN.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.