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Snapshot 3:Mon, Oct 28, 2024 1:21:21 PM GMT last edited by Vandita

Ex-WaPo Editor Claims Bezos Struck 'Quid-Pro-Quo' Deal with Trump

BezosEx-TrumpWaPo DealEditor AllegedClaims inBezos WaPoStruck Endorsement'Quid-Pro-Quo' ControversyDeal with Trump

Above: Jeff Bezos attends the UFC 306 at Riyadh Season Noche UFC event at Sphere on Sept. 14, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Image copyright: Jeff Bottari/Contributor/Zuffa LLC/UFC via Getty Images

The Facts

  • Former Washington Post editor-at-large Robert Kagan resigned following the non-endorsement decision and alleged a quid pro quo agreement between Bezos and Donald Trump to prevent the paper from endorsing Kamala Harris.Robert Kagan, Washington Post editor-at-large who resigned on Friday following the paper's decision not to endorse any candidate in the US presidential election, has alleged that the paper's owner, Jeff Bezos, struck a secret deal with Donald Trump to drop its planned endorsement of Kamala Harris.

  • Kagan pointed to a meeting between Trump and executives from Bezos' Blue Origin space company on the same day as the non-endorsement announcement as evidence of the alleged deal.According to Kagan, Trump met with executives at Blue Origin – Bezos' space exploration company – after The Post's announcement and "set up this quid pro quo" to kill the plan to support Harris as well as end The Post's decades-long practice of endorsing presidential candidates.


The Spin

The Washingtondecision Post'snot decision to refrainendorse from endorsing a presidential candidate is a stepcowardly towardsmove truethat journalisticundermines neutralitydemocracy. It's allowsa readersclear toexample formof theircorporate owninterests opinionsbowing withoutto unduepolitical influencepressure, frompotentially thesacrificing paper.journalistic Theintegrity allegationsfor offinancial again. quidThis prosets quoa aredangerous baselessprecedent andfor ignoremedia theself-censorship publisher'sand statedcould reasonsfurther forerode thepress decisionfreedom.

The Washington Post's decision to refrain from endorsing a presidential candidate is a step toward true journalistic neutrality. It allows readers to form their own opinions without undue influence from the paper. The allegations of a quid pro quo are baseless and ignore the publisher's stated reasons for the decision.


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