‘Fundamentally saddened’: Washington Post readers on failure to endorse Harris
GuardianNOV 12 2024
Former Washington Post editor-at-large Robert Kagan, who resigned last Friday following the paper's decision not to endorse a candidate in the US presidential election, has alleged that The Post's owner, Jeff Bezos, struck a secret deal with Donald Trump to drop its planned endorsement of Kamala Harris.Former The Washington Post editor-at-large Robert Kagan, who resigned last Friday following the paper's decision not to endorse a candidate in the US presidential election, has alleged that The Post's owner, Jeff Bezos, struck a secret deal with former Pres. Donald Trump to drop its planned endorsement of Vice Pres. Kamala Harris.
According to Kagan, Trump met with executives at Blue Origin – Bezos' space exploration company – after The Post's announcement and came to a "quid pro quo" agreement to end the plan to end the paper's decades-long practice of endorsing a presidential candidate.According to Kagan, Trump met with executives at Blue Origin — Bezos' space exploration company — after The Post's announcement and came to a "quid pro quo" agreement to end the plan to end the paper's decades-long practice of endorsing a presidential candidate.
Kagan said Trump "waited to make sure that Bezos did what he said he was going to do, and then met with the Blue Origin people." The allegations come less than two weeks before US voters go to the polls to elect their next president.
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.
The decision not to endorse a candidate is a cowardly move that undermines democracy. It's a clear example of corporate interests bowing to political pressure, potentially sacrificing journalistic integrity for financial gain. This sets a dangerous precedent for media self-censorship and could further erode press freedom.