Washington Post union, staffers revolt over decision not to endorse a presidential candidate, blame Bezos

Washington Post staffers are revolting aft the "Democracy Dies successful Darkness" insubstantial announced it wouldn’t endorse a campaigner successful the 2024 statesmanlike election.

On Friday, Post steadfast and CEO William Lewis announced the insubstantial would not beryllium making a statesmanlike endorsement this year, nor successful immoderate aboriginal statesmanlike election. "We are returning to our roots of not endorsing statesmanlike candidates," Lewis declared. 

Shortly after, the Washington Post Guild released a scathing connection condemning the decision. 

"We are profoundly acrophobic that The Washington Post – an American quality instauration successful the nation’s superior – would marque the determination to nary longer endorse statesmanlike candidates, particularly a specified 11 days up of an immensely consequential election. The relation of an Editorial Board is to bash conscionable this: to stock opinions connected the quality impacting our nine and civilization and endorse candidates to assistance usher readers," the Guild said. 

THE WASHINGTON POST ANNOUNCES IT WON'T BE ENDORSING IN 2024 RACE OR 'IN ANY FUTURE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION'

Critics are taking purpose astatine The Washington Post proprietor Jeff Bezos aft the insubstantial announced it would not beryllium making an endorsement successful the 2024 statesmanlike race. ((Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage) ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images)

"The connection from our main executive, Will Lewis – not from the Editorial Board itself – makes america acrophobic that absorption interfered with the enactment retired of members successful Editorial," the Guild continued. "According to our ain reporters and Guild members, an endorsement for Harris was already drafted, and the determination not to people was made by The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos."

The Guild added: "We are already seeing cancelations from erstwhile loyal readers. This determination undercuts the works of our members astatine a clip erstwhile we should beryllium gathering our readers’ trust, not losing it."

The Guild enactment up a station with a nexus encouraging action, saying, "Are you a Washington Post scholar acrophobic with today’s determination for the Editorial Board to not endorse a campaigner this predetermination cycle? Send a missive to CEO and Publisher Will Lewis and Editorial Page Editor David Shipley."

Post exertion astatine ample Robert Kagan resigned due to the fact that of the decision, and erstwhile enforcement exertion Martin "Marty" Baron denounced it arsenic "cowardice."

"This is cowardice, with ideology arsenic its casualty. @realdonaldtrump volition spot this arsenic an invitation to further intimidate proprietor @jeffbezos (and others). Disturbing spinelessness astatine an instauration famed for courage," Baron wrote connected X.

Washington Post columnist and subordinate exertion Karen Tumulty reposted Baron's message. 

Post clime alteration newsman Brianna Sacks besides retweeted Baron and wrote successful absorption to the quality of the decision, "We won a Pulitzer for nationalist work for our sum of the Jan. 6 insurrection."

A erstwhile high-level Washington Post worker besides sided with Baron's sentiment, calling retired the "feckless" decision.

"It precise disingenuously draws falls equivalencies," they told Fox News Digital. "This is not, for example, Kamala Harris vs. Mitt Romney. This is Kamala Harris against idiosyncratic who tried to disenfranchise the electorate past time."

"And if you're going to determine that it's not the relation of an editorial committee to endorse, past don't endorse. Don't endorse for Senate. Don't endorse for House. Just don't endorse," they continued. 

The ex-staffer has been proceeding from distressed erstwhile colleagues, saying they are "shocked" and "deeply disappointed," and said existent staffers deliberation the mentation that was fixed is simply a "fig leaf."

"I'm proceeding that they are being perfectly flooded with subscription cancelations," the root said. 

They told Fox News Digital, "I person ne'er been honestly ashamed of The Post until today. ‘The archetypal ngo of a paper is to archer the information arsenic astir arsenic the information tin beryllium ascertained.’ That's from Eugene Meyer's Principles of The Post. Today's determination is an abject abdication of those principles." 

Washington Post steadfast and CEO William Lewis said of his determination to not endorse, "Our occupation arsenic the paper of the superior metropolis of the astir important state successful the satellite is to beryllium independent.And that is what we are and volition be." (Elliott O'Donovan for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The erstwhile Post worker warned of the "chilling effect" this could person connected the newsroom arsenic a result.

"You cognize this is an editorial issue. There truly was a church/state divide. But I bash cognize that determination are radical successful editorial who person roots successful the newsroom and truthful it stings," they said. "And I deliberation radical successful the newsroom are reasoning ‘if they killed an endorsement, tin a quality communicative beryllium acold behind.’ And Lewis has surely expressed willingness to astatine slightest effort that. If Trump wins, who successful their close caput would privation you to screen that medication for The Post, looking implicit your enarthrosis each the clip to spot if the steadfast oregon proprietor is going to to beryllium miffed. There's a chilling effect connected the ngo of the spot that this determination sends." 

Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah took to X to scold her employer. 

"Today has been an implicit stab successful the back. What an insult to those of america who person virtually enactment our careers and lives connected the line, to telephone retired threats to quality rights and democracy," Attiah wrote. 

In its ain sum of the quality successful the Style section, The Post reported, "The determination has roiled galore connected the editorial staff, which operates independently from The Post’s quality staff, a long-standing contented of American journalism designed to abstracted sentiment penning from day-to-day quality coverage."

Health attraction newsman Fenit Nirappil tweeted of the report, "Our quality broadside continues to study fearlessly. Even erstwhile it’s astir our ain bosses."

He included images of 2 peculiar quotes:

"An endorsement of Harris had been drafted by Post editorial leafage staffers but had yet to beryllium published, according to 2 sources briefed connected the series of events who spoke connected the information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk publicly. The determination not to people was made by The Post’s proprietor — Amazon laminitis Jeff Bezos — according to the aforesaid sources."

"This is cowardice, a infinitesimal of acheronian that volition permission ideology arsenic a casualty. Donald Trump volition observe this arsenic an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and different media owners)," erstwhile Post enforcement exertion Martin Baron, who led the insubstantial portion Trump was president, said successful a substance connection to The Post. "History volition people a disturbing section of spinelessness astatine an instauration famed for courage."

Former Washington Post enforcement exertion Marty Baron torched his erstwhile insubstantial implicit the determination of withholding its endorsement, penning "This is cowardice, with ideology arsenic its casualty." (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

A root adjacent to Washington Post enactment claimed to Fox News Digital that Bezos was not progressive successful the decision. However, a abstracted root spoke with Fox News Digital and believes otherwise, citing The Post's ain reporting claiming the billionaire straight intervened.  

"A non-endorsement would person made consciousness if it had been announced earlier the nominees were known. But doing it 11 days earlier the predetermination suggests Bezos is disquieted he’d suffer authorities contracts if Trump wins. So it signals intimidation works," a existent Post staffer told Fox News Digital. "Trump surely caused occupation for Bezos successful his presidency by sidesplitting a large unreality computing declaration and messing with the Amazon postal contract. So helium knows however costly a 2nd word mightiness beryllium if Trump were huffy astatine our coverage."

The staffer besides said Baron is "regarded arsenic a hero" for his  X post, adding "he framed the stakes conscionable right."

As acold the Post's existent leader, Lewis, the root said helium has "lost the newsroom."

"I wouldn’t spot a connection Will Lewis oregon immoderate of his radical say," the staffer told Fox News Digital. "He mislaid the newsroom implicit the summer. He ne'er shows his look anymore. We get play rah-rah emails. That’s it. He utilized to rotation the newsroom but seemingly knows he’s not welcome."

A Post spokesperson declined to remark further but reiterated it was a "Washington Post decision."

11 Post sentiment columnists wrote a connection calling the determination a "terrible mistake." 

"The Washington Post’s determination not to marque an endorsement successful the statesmanlike run is simply a unspeakable mistake. It represents an abandonment of the cardinal editorial convictions of the paper that we love, and for which we person worked a combined 275 years. This is simply a infinitesimal for the instauration to beryllium making wide its committedness to antiauthoritarian values, the regularisation of instrumentality and planetary alliances, and the menace that Donald Trump poses to them — the precise points The Post made successful endorsing Trump’s opponents successful 2016 and 2020," they said.

"There is nary contradiction betwixt The Post’s important relation arsenic an autarkic paper and its signifier of making governmental endorsements, some arsenic a substance of guidance to readers and arsenic a connection of halfway beliefs. That has ne'er been much existent than successful the existent campaign. An autarkic paper mightiness someday take to backmost distant from making statesmanlike endorsements. But this isn’t the close moment, erstwhile 1 campaigner is advocating positions that straight endanger state of the property and the values of the Constitution."

It was signed by Perry Bacon Jr., E.J. Dionne Jr., Lee Hockstader, David Ignatius, Heather Long, Ruth Marcus, Dana Milbank, Catherine Rampell, Eugene Robinson, Jennifer Rubin and Karen Tumulty.

In the governmental world, erstwhile Biden advisor Susan Rice wrote aggregate posts expressing her outrage.

"As a DC autochthonal and lifelong subscriber to the Post, I’m disgusted. You person mislaid us," she wrote, past added, "So overmuch for ‘Democracy Dies successful Darkness’. This is the astir hypocritical, chickenhearted s[---] determination from a work that is expected to clasp radical successful powerfulness to account."

She responded to a study of a Washington Post editorial committee subordinate blasting the decision, saying, "So what are they going to bash astir it? The full Post editorial section should locomotion out."

"This is what Oligarchy is about. Jeff Bezos, the 2nd wealthiest idiosyncratic successful the satellite and the proprietor of the Washington Post, overrides his editorial committee and refuses to endorse Kamala. Clearly, helium is acrophobic of antagonizing Trump and losing Amazon’s national contracts. Pathetic," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wrote.

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Fox News Digital’s Scott Whitlock contributed to this report.