In a rare public defense of its recent decision to stop The Washington Post from endorsing a candidate in the upcoming presidential race, Amazon founder and newspaper owner Jeff Bezos took to the newspaper’s own editorial page to argue for neutrality. Took support.
In an op-ed published late Monday, Mr. Bezos, in his first comments since backlash over the decision, said giving up political support is the right course of action for The Post, pointing it in the direction of more independent and objective journalism. I told you one step.
“The President’s endorsement does nothing to diminish the scale of the election,” Mr. Bezos wrote. “No undecided voter in Pennsylvania will say, ‘I’m going with the endorsement of Newspaper A.’ None. The president’s endorsements actually create a perception of bias. It’s a principled decision, and that’s the right one.”
However, the decision has been controversial, leading to a wave of discontent within The Post. Hours after the op-ed was published, three members of the editorial board who had reportedly advocated for the endorsement tendered their resignations. This also had an impact on the newspaper’s readership and over 200,000 subscribers canceled their subscriptions in protest.
Mr. Bezos addressed these concerns in the op-ed, acknowledging that the timing was “insufficient” but denying that it was a strategic decision. “I wish we had made the change earlier, a moment before the election and the emotions surrounding it,” he wrote.
The controversy also included reports of an alleged meeting between former President Donald Trump and executives from Mr Bezos’s space company Blue Origin. The timing of the meeting, which occurred shortly after The Post’s announcement, led to allegations that Mr Bezos’ decision may be part of an effort to curry favor with Mr Trump before the election.
However, the Amazon chief denied the allegation and claimed that there was no communication between The Post and any political campaign regarding the decision to stop support. He categorically denied any political maneuvering, saying, “I would also like to make it clear that there is no quid pro quo of any kind at work here. There is nothing to be said about this decision at any level or in any way. Neither the campaign nor the candidate were consulted or informed. This was made entirely internally.”
According to Mr. Bezos, he had no prior knowledge of the meeting between Trump and Blue Origin executives, and felt disappointed after learning about it. “I sighed,” he wrote, “because I knew it would provide ammunition to those who would want to present it as something other than a theoretical decision. But the fact is that I was worried about the meeting. Didn’t know before.”
Mr. Bezos acknowledged that his overlapping interests between Amazon, Blue Origin and The Post sometimes create a daunting “appearance of conflict.” However, he explained that while his vast wealth places him in a position of significant power, it is also “a bulwark against intimidation”, protecting The Post from outside pressures.
Mr. Bezos wrote, “While I will not and will not advance my personal interests, I also will not allow this newspaper to remain on autopilot and become irrelevant.”