Bezos Backs Washington Post’s Move to Stop Presidential Endorsements

Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, has defended the paper’s decision to refrain from endorsing a presidential candidate. This move comes after a report that 200,000 readers cancelled their digital subscriptions.

National Public Radio (NPR) reported that the decision, announced on Friday, blocked an anticipated endorsement of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, with many dissatisfied customers attributing the choice to Bezos, founder of Amazon and aerospace company Blue Origin.

Bezos responded on Monday with an opinion piece in The Washington Post, explaining that “most people believe the media is biased” and stressing the need for The Washington Post and similar publications to reinforce their credibility.

“Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election,” Bezos wrote. “What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one.”

With the announcement coming less than two weeks before Election Day, critics questioned if Bezos might have been concerned about potential retaliation from Republican candidate Donald Trump if he were elected president.

Bezos clarified that no candidate had been informed or consulted about the decision and emphasised that there was “no quid pro quo.”

He also denied any link between the decision and a same-day meeting between Trump and Blue Origin’s senior officials.

William Lewis, publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, confirmed that the newspaper would not endorse a presidential candidate this November or in any future election, stating, “We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.”

Faridah Abdulkadiri

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