Bezos Made Decision to Block Harris Endorsement in Washington Post, Paper Reports

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks at the Amazon re:MARS convention in Las Vegas on June 6, 2019. John Locher/AP Photo

It appears The Washington Post’s decision to forgo endorsing a presidential candidate—for only the second time since 1976—was made by its owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, according to the newspaper.

The paper’s decision was initially explained by William Lewis, the publisher and CEO, in an opinion article as a return to the paper’s “roots” of not endorsing candidates.

“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,” Lewis wrote on Oct. 25. “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.

“We also see it as a statement in support of our readers’ ability to make up their own minds on this, the most consequential of American decisions—whom to vote for as the next president,” he wrote.

However, two anonymous sources familiar with the events said an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris was drafted by the editorial page staffers, but Bezos decided not to publish it.

Marty Baron, a former executive editor who ran The Post during Trump’s presidency, called the decision in a text message to The Post “cowardice” and “a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty,” likely alluding to the paper’s slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

The Post has endorsed only Democratic presidential candidates since it took up the practice, backing former President Jimmy Carter in 1976. Only in 1988, when Vice President George H.W. Bush and Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis competed for the Oval Office, had The Post chosen to stay silent.

The Epoch Times reached out to The Washington Post and Amazon for confirmation.

The Washington Post’s decision follows a similar move by the Los Angeles Times, whose owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, also reportedly blocked the editorial team’s endorsement of Harris.

Soon-Shiong said in a post on X that he asked the editorial board to provide a side-by-side factual analysis of both Harris and Trump during their time in office and based on their policy proposals for the upcoming term.

“In this way, with this clear and nonpartisan information side by side, our readers could decide who would be worthy of being president for the next four years,” he said. “Instead of adopting this path as suggested, the Editorial Board chose to remain silent, and I accepted their decision.”

The move triggered the departure of the newspaper’s editorial section editor Mariel Garza.

“I am resigning because I want to make it clear that I am not OK with us being silent,” Garza told the Columbia Journalism Review’s Sewell Chan in an interview. “In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.”

Zachary Stieber and Kimberly Hayek contributed to this report.