The Washington Post ceases to provide election endorsements.
In 2022, the "Washington Post" deviates from its usual practice and fails to issue an endorsement for the November elections. This change in policy, reportedly enacted by the paper's owner, Jeff Bezos, has been widely discussed. Bezos, the brains behind Amazon, has been a subject of criticism by former president Trump in the past.
The "Washington Post" had initially planned to endorse Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, according to unnamed sources. However, the paper's main editorial writer, Robert Kagan, reportedly resigned in dissent. The competition between Harris and her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, is currently uncertain.
Bezos purchased the "Washington Post" a little over a decade ago. The newspaper played a pivotal role in disclosing the Watergate scandal and furthering President Richard Nixon's resignation in 1974. In recent years, Trump's displeasure towards the paper's reporting has been evident, and he has even hinted at targeting Amazon. Additionally, Bezos is the owner of Blue Origin, a space company aiming for government contracts.
"Backbone"
The "Washington Post" Guild, the union representing the newspaper's staff, raised concerns about management potentially meddling in editorial matters. Martin Baron, the paper's former editor-in-chief who oversaw the publication during the Trump administration and left in 2021, described the decision as lacking "backbone." He believes Trump might view this decision as a green light to continue bullying Bezos and other media moguls.
Lewis, the current publisher, argues that the paper should remain impartial, enabling its readers to analyze the situation without bias. He highlighted that the "Washington Post" did not make endorsements before the 1976 election and only began doing so regularly afterwards. Apart from that, only two instances have occurred when the paper did not issue an endorsement - in 1976 and 1988, when Republican George H.W. Bush and Democrat Michael Dukakis were in the running. Since then, the paper has consistently backed Democratic candidates.
Despite the union's concerns, Lewis, the current publisher, insisted on maintaining the paper's impartiality. He explained, "I'm not going to let anyone influence our editorial decisions, not even the owner." Martin Baron, the former editor-in-chief, lamented the decision, stating, "This lack of backbone could embolden Trump to continue his attacks on media moguls."
