Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has publicly defended the newspaper’s controversial decision to stop endorsing candidates in presidential elections, calling it a “meaningful step in the right direction” to regain the public’s lost trust in the media. In an op-ed published Monday, Jeff Bezos explained that presidential endorsements often create a perception of bias, which he believes has contributed to the growing mistrust of news organizations.
Jeff Bezos, who purchased the Post in 2013, acknowledged that the timing of the announcement—just before a major election—was poorly planned. “I wish we had made the change earlier than we did, in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it,” he wrote, calling it “inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy.”
The decision to end decades of presidential endorsements has sparked internal debate within the Washington Post. Several members of the paper’s editorial board resigned from their endorsement roles, although they retained their staff positions. The announcement has also reportedly resulted in the loss of more than 200,000 digital subscribers since Friday, when the decision was made public by Post CEO Will Lewis.
While Lewis officially announced the decision, sources within the paper have indicated that Jeff Bezos made the final call. Reports suggest that Jeff Bezos stepped in after a draft endorsement of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris over GOP nominee Donald Trump had been prepared. However, Jeff Bezos insists that the decision was made “entirely internally” and without external influence.
In his op-ed, Jeff Bezos rejected speculation that there was any political maneuvering behind the decision, stating, “No quid pro quo of any kind is at work here.” He added that neither presidential campaign was consulted or informed about the move.
Jeff Bezos also addressed the controversy surrounding a meeting between Dave Limp, CEO of his space exploration company Blue Origin, and Donald Trump, which occurred the same day Lewis announced the decision. While the timing raised concerns, Jeff Bezos clarified that he was unaware of the meeting in advance, adding that it had no bearing on the decision to end endorsements. “There is no connection between it and our decision on presidential endorsements, and any suggestion otherwise is false,” he wrote.
Jeff Bezos pointed to a recent Gallup poll that ranked the media as the least trusted institution among U.S. civic and political entities. “Something we are doing is clearly not working,” he wrote, arguing that the media must not only be accurate but also be perceived as accurate. He warned that continuing to ignore this perception of bias would further erode public trust in journalism.
