(NewsNation) — The Washington Post announced Friday it will no longer endorse presidential candidates, abandoning a 30-year tradition amid reports that owner Jeff Bezos blocked a planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The decision comes as major newspapers increasingly step back from presidential endorsements, with the Los Angeles Times making a similar move this week.
Washington Post publisher William Lewis said the decision marks a return to the paper’s earlier practice of not endorsing presidential candidates, describing it as “consistent with the values the Post has always stood for.”
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According to internal sources cited by the Post, the paper’s editorial board had prepared an endorsement of Harris over former President Donald Trump before the announcement. The reversal prompted criticism from Martin Baron, the Post’s former executive editor, who called it “cowardice, with democracy as its casualty.”
The LA Times’ decision triggered resignations from its editorial page editor and two editorial board members. Mariel Garza, the departing editorials editor, questioned how the paper could “spend eight years railing against Trump and the danger his leadership poses to the country and then fail to endorse the perfectly decent Democrat challenger.”
The shifts in both papers have highlighted the growing reluctance of news organizations to make presidential endorsements. The Minnesota Star Tribune also announced in August it would end the practice.
Many newspapers are dropping endorsements as they struggle with declining readership and fear losing subscribers who disagree with their political positions. The trend comes as traditional media faces broader challenges, including evolving reader habits and the need to combat election misinformation.
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Some major outlets still endorse, with most backing Harris over Trump
While some major publications are stepping back from endorsements, others are maintaining the tradition. The New York Times, Boston Globe, Seattle Times, Las Vegas Sun and The New Yorker have endorsed Harris, while Trump has received backing from the New York Post.
The Philadelphia Inquirer recently announced its support for Harris, coupling the endorsement with sharp criticism of Trump, whom they described as “a convicted criminal, insurrectionist, tax dodger, sexual harasser, serial liar and Russian sympathizer.”
The announcements come as Trump has renewed his attacks on the media, recently calling them “the enemy of the people” at an Arizona rally and threatening to revoke CBS’s broadcast license.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.