The Washington Post Building at One Franklin Square Building in Washington, DC, June 5, 2024.
Andrew Hanick | getty images
The Washington Post announced Friday that it would not endorse a candidate in this year’s presidential election, breaking with decades of tradition and drawing immediate criticism of the decision.
The paper also published an article Friday by two staff reporters saying its editorial staff had drafted a letter endorsing Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in the election.
“It is the owners of The Post who have decided not to publish. Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos, The Post reported, citing two sources briefed on the incident.
Trump was critical of Bezos and the Post during his time as president.
In a 2019 lawsuit, Amazon claimed it lost $10 billion in cloud computing contracts from the Department of Defense and Microsoft because Trump exerted “improper pressure” to harm Bezos, his political opponent.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos arrives for a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the British Embassy residence on September 20, 2021 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | getty images
“The Washington Post will not be endorsing any presidential candidate in this election,” Post CEO Will Lewis wrote in an online explanation of the decision. The same applies to any future presidential election.
“We are going back to our roots of not supporting a presidential candidate,” Lewis wrote.
“We know this article will be read in many different ways:
“It’s either tacitly supporting one candidate, criticizing another candidate, or abdicating responsibility,” he said. “It’s inevitable.” We don’t see it that way. We believe this is consistent with the values The Post has always stood for and what we look for in our leaders: character and courage in the service of the American ethic, respect for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects. “
The announcement comes just days after the Los Angeles Times’ editorial chairman resigned in protest after its owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, decided not to endorse the president.
Xiong, like Bezos, is a billionaire.
“@realdonaldtrump will see this as an invitation to further threaten owner @jeffbezos (and others),” Baron wrote. “I experienced shocking helplessness in an institution renowned for its courage.”
The Washington Post Guild, the union representing the newspaper’s employees, said in a statement posted on the social media site . “We especially need to support a presidential candidate just 11 days before a very important election.”
“The message from our CEO, Will Lewis, and not from the editorial board itself, raises concerns that management has interfered with the work of our members editorially,” the union said in a statement. decision.
“We are already reporting cancellations from once-loyal readers,” the guild said. “This decision undermines the work of our members at a time when we need to build, not lose, the trust of our readers.”
Marty Baron, former editor-in-chief of the Washington Post, called the paper’s decision “cowardice at the expense of democracy.”
“@realdonaldtrump will see this as an invitation to further threaten owner @jeffbezos (and others),” Baron wrote. “It disturbs despondency in an institution known for its courage.”
“The first step toward fascism is the free press cowering in fear,” Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California, wrote in his news tweet.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
