In the United States, major print publications follow a long-standing tradition of officially endorsing some of the candidates for the presidency of the United States immediately before the election. But while the "New York Times", "Boston Globe" and "Dee Atlantic" officially stood behind Kamala Harris, and the "New York Post" endorsed Trump, "Washington Post" decided to break with the support for the Democrats that they had relied on for decades.
Jeff Bezos wants to warm relations with Trump?
Do not support anyone - the recommendation for this comes directly from the owner of the publication, billionaire Jeff Bezos. "A clear example of cowardice and a classic case of turning the tail", commented on this occasion Howard Kurtz, a media expert at the right-wing channel "Fox News" and former editor at the "Washington Post".
The media editorial supporting Harris was even written when the decision was made. As a result, representatives of the editorial board left the media, and over 200,000 readers have already canceled their subscription.
According to journalist Robert Kagan, who is among those who left, this decision is an apparent attempt by Bezos to curry favor with the Republican candidate in case he wins the election. Even during his previous presidential campaign, Donald Trump threatened the billionaire that there would be "problems" if elected. And he mentioned in this connection the "Washington Post" that asked him "stupid questions". Bezos owns "Blue Origin" - a space company that is a direct competitor of "Space Ex" of Elon Musk. Musk is among Trump's staunchest allies.
Bezos says he wants to increase trust in the media
Bezos himself also wrote a column in which he explained that the decision was made to strengthen trust in the media and its independence, and not because of his personal interests. At the same time, he admits that the time to end this practice is probably not the best.
"For a key decision like this to be made just eleven days before the election is very suspicious," warns former media editor-in-chief Marty Baron. Baron also says that until now Bezos has resisted pressure regarding the editorial freedom of the authoritative publication, but the current decision raises serious questions. According to the journalist, the fact that it was not discussed in detail with journalists in the media seriously contradicts the motto of the Washington Post: "Democracy dies in darkness".
Scandal and in the "Los Angeles Times"
The decision of another newspaper - "Los Angeles Times" - not supporting any of the candidates also caused serious tension, resignations and withdrawal of readers. Media owner Patrick Soon-Shiong motivated the decision with the desire not to divide readers. His daughter said the move was influenced by US support for Israel in the Gaza war. Soon-Shiong later denied her daughter's claims.
"How can we spend eight years fighting against Trump and the danger his leadership poses to the country, and then not fully support the worthy Democratic challenger we previously supported for U.S. Senator?" asks Maria Garza from the editorial board of the "Los Angeles Times", who was the first to leave the media after the decision.