New York
CNN
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For the first time in decades, the newspaper’s publisher announced Friday that the Washington Post would not endorse a candidate in this year’s presidential election, prompting widespread outrage among newspaper employees.
“The Washington Post will not endorse a presidential candidate in this election. And not in future presidential elections,” said Post publisher Will Lewis A Report. “We’re going back to our roots of not supporting presidential candidates.”
Post announced the result The newspaper’s billionaire owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, briefly cited two sources on the matter.
The Post’s editorial staff prepared an endorsement from Vice President Kamala Harris that was ready for its board’s approval, but the draft was never submitted, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.
“A lot of people on the faculty are surprised and angry,” the person said.
The Post has endorsed a presidential candidate in every election since the 1980s. In his statement, Lewis referred to past decisions by the Editorial Board not to endorse a candidate that “we’re going back to.”
“We recognize that this could be read in many ways as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or a condemnation of another, or an abdication of responsibility. That’s inevitable,” Lewis continued. “We don’t see it that way. We see Post as consistent with the values it has always held and what we expect in a leader: character and courage in the service of American values, respect for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects. ”
Newspaper owners usually play a role in their publication’s endorsements and sign off on editorials, which are seen as a reflection of their views.
A journalist at the Post told CNN that the Harris campaign did not engage with the editorial board as part of the approval process. Another Post source said the paper tried to meet with both campaigns but did not meet with either candidate. A spokesman for the newspaper declined to comment.
Before Friday’s announcement, Post editorial editor David Shipley told staff that Lewis would issue a public memo accompanying the decision.
“The news is significant — and I know there will be strong reactions across the industry,” Shipley wrote in a note.
Post opinion editor Robert Kagan, who resigned Friday in protest of the announcement, said Bezos made the decision to appease Trump.
“This is an attempt by Jeff Bezos to gain Donald Trump’s support in anticipation of his potential victory,” Robert Kagan told CNN’s Erin Burnett Outfront. “Trump has threatened to go after Bezos’ business. Bezos runs one of America’s largest corporations. They have a very complicated relationship with the central government. They are dependent on the central government,” he said.
The move was condemned by former Post managing editor Marty Baron, who led the newspaper through the January 6, 2021 attack.
“This is cowardice, and democracy is its victim. Donald Trump will see this as an invitation to further intimidate Bezos (and others),” Barron wrote in a post. Social media post. “Disturbing spinelessness in an institution renowned for its courage.”
Under Baron, the paper went Win a Pulitzer Prize For public service coverage of the attack on the US Capitol, it described it as an “attempted conspiracy”.
During Trump’s presidency, he famously clashed with Bezos, particularly when it came to e-commerce giant Amazon. Trump called the Post “The Fake News Washington Post” and mocked Amazon’s “chief lobbyist.”
Trump directly accused Amazon of not paying enough taxes and taking advantage of the US Postal Service. The Trump administration also blocked Amazon’s $10 billion cloud computing deal with the Pentagon, which was widely seen as retaliation against Bezos for the Trump Post’s reporting at the time.
It was Bezos who ultimately helped decide the Post’s “democracy dies in darkness” slogan adopted in the Trump era, Barron wrote in his book “Coalition of Power.”
But Trump has vowed to arm the government and retaliate against opponents and critics if re-elected in November. Hours after the Post announced its decision on Friday, Trump congratulated executives at Blue Origin, the Bezos-owned space exploration company. The Associated Press reported. Company A $3.4 billion deal With the federal government to build a new spacecraft to carry astronauts to and from the surface of the moon.
In Washington, Bezos’ decision to enter the 2024 race left some members of the Post’s editorial staff feeling blindsided and resentful, multiple sources told CNN. “We are furious,” said one writer.
A panel of 13 opinion columnists later issued a statement Condemning the decision as “a terrible mistake”.
“It represents an abandonment of the core editorial beliefs of the newspaper we love and for which we have worked for 218 years,” they wrote.
Another staffer, echoing the Post’s slogan, said, “Democracy doesn’t die in darkness, it dies when people expect and acquiesce to the whims of a fascist.” Other postal workers publicly expressed their dismay.
Pulitzer Prize-winning editor David Maraniss wrote, “The magazine I’ve worked for for 47 years is dying in obscurity.” Social media post.
Another Washington Post journalist, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNN he had mixed feelings about the decision.
“I’m glad Post isn’t going to approve anymore. But, what a terrible time and way to roll it out,” the person said. “If you’ve read the Post over the last few years and you’ve read all the facts the news side has revealed, I’m not sure you need an editorial board to tell you what to do.”
The decision comes days after Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of The Los Angeles Times, blocked Harris’ planned endorsement, which led to the resignation of three editorial board members.
Major US newspaper chains have also reduced their endorsements of the president in recent years. McClatchy and Alden Global Capital, which own hundreds of newspapers across the country, have put an end to the practice. Earlier this year, the New York Times announced that it would no longer endorse local races, but that was later supported Harris “The Only Patriotic Choice for President.”
Friday, the Philadelphia Enquirer and Houston Chronicle Also approved Harris.
“America deserves more than a law-abiding, jail-breaking, tyranny that cares about no one but itself,” the Inquirer said. Written by the editorial team.
