Washington Post stops endorsing presidential candidates

The Washington Post announced Friday that it has ended its tradition of endorsing a candidate in the U.S. presidential election, sparking outrage among staff members and causing some readers to cancel their subscription.

“The Washington Post will not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in this election. Nor in any future presidential election,” publisher and CEO William Lewis said. “We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.”

This will be the first time since 1988 that the Washington Post has not endorsed a presidential candidate, even though the newspaper’s editorial staff had already prepared an article to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris.

The move sparked outrage among a number of employees and some readers said they had canceled their subscription. The newspaper’s editor-at-large, Robert Kagan, resigned in protest.

“This is cowardice, with democracy as its casualty,” said Marty Baron, who led the paper while Donald Trump was president. “Donald Trump will see this as an invitation to further intimidate owner Jeff Bezos (and others). Disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”

Lewis defended his decision, saying the newspaper’s job is to be independent.

“We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility. That is inevitable,” Lewis said. “We don’t see it that way. We see it as consistent with the values The Post has always stood for and what we hope for in a leader: character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects. We also see it as a statement in support of our readers’ ability to make up their own minds on this, the most consequential of American decisions — whom to vote for as the next president.”