The Washington Post has abandoned its decades-long tradition of endorsing a US presidential candidate to earn back the trust of the American public, the newspaper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, has said. The billionaire explained his reasoning in an op-ed published by the Post on Monday after facing a backlash from current and former staff.
The newspaper had endorsed candidates since 1976, but announced the suspension of the practice on Friday, prompting several editors to resign. The Post’s editorial board endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. According to CNN, the newspaper’s staffers had drafted an endorsement of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the election next month, but it was ultimately not approved by the management.