Watergate reporters react to the Washington Post REFUSING to back a 2024 candidate

The infamous Washington Post reporters who uncovered Watergate person slammed the paper's determination not to endorse a statesmanlike candidate. 

The Washington Post announced connected Friday that it would not backmost a statesmanlike candidate, marking the archetypal time successful 36 years that the left-leaning insubstantial has declined to bash so.  

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein aboriginal released a associated connection to CNN successful which they expressed their disappointment successful the Post's decision. 

It said: 'We respect the accepted independency of the editorial page, but this determination 11 days retired from the 2024 presidential election ignores the Washington Post’s ain overwhelming reportorial grounds connected the menace Donald Trump poses to democracy.

'Under Jeff Bezos’s ownership, the Washington Post’s quality cognition has utilized its abundant resources to rigorously analyse the information and harm a 2nd Trump presidency could origin to the aboriginal of American democracy.

'That makes this determination adjacent much astonishing and disappointing, particularly this precocious successful the electoral process.'

Woodward and Bernstein became legends successful the satellite of journalism aft they broke Watergate - a sordid governmental ungraded that progressive the Nixon medication and his re-election campaign. 

Thanks to the pair's investigative reporting, the existent grade of Watergate was uncovered, and Nixon was yet forced to resign from office. 

Woodward and Bernstein aren't the lone ones who are frustrated with the Post's decision, though. 

Many of the outlet's wide readers are present pledging to cancel their subscriptions.

The paper's leafage exertion David Shipley had already approved an endorsement of Harris and had reportedly told colleagues that it was being reviewed by the paper's proprietor Jeff Bezos, according to NPR. 

But connected Friday CEO Will Lewis published an op-ed that the insubstantial is returning to its 'roots of not endorsing statesmanlike candidates.'

It comes conscionable days aft The Los Angeles Times announced it would besides not beryllium endorsing anyone for the November statesmanlike elections. 

The paper's unit learned of the determination from leafage exertion Shipley successful a 'tense' gathering connected Friday, according to NPR. 

Shipley told unit helium owned the determination and it was meant to make 'independent space' wherever the insubstantial does not archer radical however to vote. 

However, The Post itself has reported that it was Bezos who made the determination to not endorse a statesmanlike candidate.

Columnist Robert Kagan, a blimpish Trump critic, resigned from his presumption successful the editorial committee aft the determination emerged.

The effect from the Post's unit has been 'uniformly outraged,'  according to NPR's David Folkenflik.

The Washington Post Guild issued a connection denouncing the move.

'We are profoundly acrophobic that The Washington Post would marque the determination to nary longer endorse statesmanlike candidates, particularly a specified 11 days up of an immensely consequential election,' it read.

'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 connection from our main executive, Will Lewis — not from the Editorial Board itself — makes america acrophobic that absorption interfered with the enactment of our members successful Editorial

'According to our ain reporters and Guild members, an endorsement for Harris was already drafted, and the determination to not to people was made by The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos.

'We are already seeing cancellations from erstwhile loyal readers. This determination undercuts the enactment of our members astatine a clip erstwhile we should beryllium gathering our readers’ trust, not losing it.'

Former Post enforcement exertion Martin Baron said: '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). 

'History volition people a disturbing section of spinelessness astatine an instauration famed for courage.' 

The Post's elder governmental analogous Ashley Parker simply said, 'Welp, that's surely a caller benignant of October Surprise.'

The station began endorsing statesmanlike candidates successful 1976 aft it broke the Watergate ungraded and publically backed Democrat Jimmy Carter - 'for understandable reasons astatine the time,' the insubstantial said.

However, it declined to marque an endorsement successful 1988 betwixt George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis.

All of its endorsements since Carter person been Democrats. 

In his op-ed, CEO Lewis added: In his op-ed, CEO Lewis said: 'We admit that this volition beryllium work successful a scope of ways, including arsenic a tacit endorsement of 1 candidate, oregon arsenic a condemnation of another, oregon arsenic an abdication of responsibility.

'We don’t spot it that way. We spot it arsenic accordant with the values The Post has ever stood for and what we anticipation for successful a leader: quality and courageousness successful work to the American ethic, veneration for the regularisation of law, and respect for quality state successful each its aspects.'

Democrats specified arsenic Vermont legislator Bernie Sanders person besides expressed outrage astatine the Post's decision.

'This is what Oligarchy is about,' Sanders said successful X.

'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.'

Earlier this week, LA Times billionaire proprietor Dr  Patrick Soon-Shiong blocked a planned endorsement of Harris, starring to the resignation of the paper's editorials editor.

Mariel Garza told the Columbia Journalism Review successful an interrogation that she resigned due to the fact that the Times was remaining soundless connected the contention successful 'dangerous times'. 

'I americium resigning due to the fact that I privation to marque it wide that I americium not OK with america being silent,' Garza said. 'In unsafe times, honorable radical request to basal up. This is however I’m lasting up.'

In a station connected the societal media level X that did not straight notation the resignation, proprietor Soon-Shiong said the committee was asked to bash a factual investigation of the policies of Harris and Republican erstwhile President Trump during their clip astatine the White House.

Soon-Shiong, who bought the insubstantial successful 2018, said the committee 'chose to stay soundless and I accepted their decision.'