Oct 28, 2024 - Business

Bezos breaks his silence on ending WaPo endorsements

Rebecca Falconer

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos arrives for his meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the UK diplomatic residence on September 20, 2021 in New York City. — Washington Post and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos defended his decision to end his paper's decades-long tradition of endorsing presidential candidates in an op-ed on Monday.

Why it matters: Three of WaPo's 10-member editorial board announced they're stepping down in response to the billionaire Amazon founder's decision, which he reached after the board had drafted an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.

WaPo's announcement on endorsements came the same day former President Trump met with Dave Limp, CEO of Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin. Bezos denied in the op-ed that this was a factor in his decision.

What he's saying: Bezos said there's "no connection" between the meeting that he said he knew nothing about beforehand and "our decision on presidential endorsements, and any suggestion otherwise is false."

He said there was "no quid pro quo" at work and neither campaign nor candidate "was consulted or informed at any level or in any way about this decision."
Bezos wrote that presidential endorsements "do nothing to tip the scales of an election, but what they "actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence."
He added: "Ending them is a principled decision, and it's the right one."

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Bezos breaks his silence on ending WaPo endorsements

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