Breaking News: Washington Post’s Historic Shift: No Presidential Endorsement Amid Newsroom Upheaval
As a seasoned political reporter, I bring you the groundbreaking announcement that has sent shockwaves through America’s media landscape. The Washington Post, one of the nation’s most influential newspapers, has made the stunning decision to abandon its decades-long tradition of presidential endorsements.
Publisher Will Lewis dropped this bombshell on Friday, declaring that the Post will not only skip endorsing a candidate in the 2024 presidential race but will permanently end this practice for all future presidential elections. This marks a dramatic departure from the paper’s consistent endorsement record since the 1980s.
Behind closed doors, the story takes an even more intriguing turn. The Post’s editorial team had already drafted an endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris, but it never made it to print, according to sources. The final decision reportedly came from Jeff Bezos, the paper’s billionaire owner and Amazon’s founder.
The newsroom’s reaction was swift and fierce. Robert Kagan, a respected opinion editor-at-large, quit in protest, claiming Bezos made this move to appease Trump. “This is obviously an effort to curry favor with Donald Trump in anticipation of his possible victory,” Kagan told CNN.
Marty Baron, the former executive editor of the Post, fueled the controversy with his blunt remarks. He called the decision “cowardice” and warned it could encourage further intimidation from Trump. A group of 13 Post opinion columnists joined the chorus of criticism, labeling it “a terrible mistake” in a joint statement.
This shift comes at a critical time in American politics. If re-elected, Trump has openly discussed using government power against his critics, and there is ample documentation of his past conflicts with Bezos and Amazon. Just hours after the announcement, Trump met with executives from Blue Origin, Bezos’s space company, which holds a $3.4 billion federal contract.
The Post isn’t alone in this trend. Other major newspaper chains like McClatchy and Alden Global Capital have also stopped presidential endorsements. However, some papers are holding firm—the Philadelphia Enquirer and Houston Chronicle both recently backed Harris.
This decision raises bigger questions about media independence and corporate influence in journalism. One Post staffer pointedly remarked, “Democracy doesn’t die in darkness; it dies when people anticipatorily consent to a fascist’s whims,” a bitter reference to the paper’s own slogan, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”
As we head toward what promises to be one of America’s most consequential elections, the Post’s decision marks a significant shift in how major media outlets engage with presidential politics.
Whether this represents a return to journalistic neutrality or a retreat from democratic responsibility remains hotly debated in newsrooms across the country.