Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos reportedly put the kibosh on the paper endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming election — leading to one editorial board member to quit and backlash from its left-leaning staff.
The Beltway broadsheet said Friday that it will not endorse either candidate, breaking 36 years of tradition, following a “tense” newsroom, according to NPR.
The newspaper then published an article written by two reporters saying that editorial page staffers had drafted an endorsement for the Democratic nominee Harris over former President Donald Trump.
“The decision not to publish was made by The Post’s owner — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos,” The Post reported, citing two sources briefed on the events.
Publisher Will Lewis, who was hired by Bezos in January, explained the decision in an online note to readers.
“The Washington Post will not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in this election. Nor in any future presidential election,” he wrote.
“We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.”
Lewis’s note went on to say: “We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility. “That is inevitable. We don’t see it that way. We see it as consistent with the values The Post has always stood for and what we hope for in a leader: character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects.”
Follow the NY Post’s live updates on the 2024 presidential race as Election Day looms
The decision led editorial board member Robert Kagan, a frequent critic of Trump, to resign, according to NPR.
Bezos, the second-richest person in the world with a net worth valued by Bloomberg Billionaires Index at $209 billion as of Friday, was a frequent target of Trump during his first term in office — mainly due to the Washington Post’s coverage of his administration.
Some WashPo insiders have speculated that Bezos does not want to alienate Trump as he gains momentum to recapture the White House.
Bezos has not publicly weighed in on the presidential election.
Marty Baron, the former editor of The Washington Post, called the paper’s decision “cowardice, with democracy at its casualty.”
″@realdonaldtrump will see this as an invitation to further intimidate owner @jeffbezos (and others),” Baron wrote on X. “Disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”
A similar decision to withhold endorsement by Los Angeles Times owner and billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has roiled that newsroom and led to the resignations of the paper’s editorials editor and two editorial board members.
The Washington Post supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, publishing its endorsements much earlier in past election cycles.
The New York Times endorsed Harris on Sept. 30.
The New York Post endorsed Trump on Friday.
Lewis, who served as CEO of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal, the sibling publication of The New York Post, as well as editor of the London-based Telegraph, was hired to to amp up the outlet’s conservative readership.
Sources told NPR that Bezos hired Lewis in part for his ability to get along with powerful conservative political figures, but he has so far been a lightening-rod figure at the paper.
In June, the sharp-elbowed British-born media exec shook up the ranks at The Post, which pushed Sally Buzbee — the paper’s first female executive editor in its 144-year history — to resign after a three-year tenure that was marred by deteriorating finances and readership.
