For the first time in 36 years, the Washington Post has officially decided not to endorse a presidential candidate in the upcoming presidential election. The chief publisher and CEO Will Lewis announced that the Post will return to its practice of not endorsing candidates, which last took place in the 1988 general election.
This decision comes during the current presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Of course, this decision has been seen by many as an endorsement of Donald Trump and not just a lack of endorsement for Kamala Harris.
Reactions and Decision Justifications
The announcement came as a shock to many. Of course, this was not just Twitter/X users, but even employees within the organization. The reason for this was simple. The announcement, which was made by Editorial Page Editor David Shipley, was contrary to his previous approval for endorsement of Harris.
The decision underwent review by the owner of the Washington Post, Jeff Bezos, who emphasized a desire to maintain independence for journalistic integrity.
Despite this, the decision faced much internal backlash, leading to the resignation of Robert Kagan from the board. The former Executive Editor Martin Baron labeled the decision a failure of courage, saying that Bezos and crew were afraid of potential repercussions.
Reader Backlash and Cancellations
Soon, the backlash from fans became imminent. The Washington Post Guild criticized management’s involvement, claiming that over 1,600 digital subscriptions were canceled within hours of the announcement.
Beyond this, the controversy came from many celebrity endorsements of a boycott, which were posted to social media.
The Los Angeles Times
This situation happened to be similar to the recent news from the Los Angeles Times, which also abstained from endorsing a presidential candidate for this year.
These similar conditions also caused the resignation of several editorial board members, who cited hypocrisy and dangers to the integrity of the paper despite the clear unbiased decision.
Hamill’s Reaction
Most notably, Mark Hamill soon posted several tweets about both the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, criticizing their refusal to endorse political candidates.
Hamill seemed to believe that these refusals to endorse were instead endorsements of the opposite political party, and that this was unacceptable.
In one tweet, Hamill wrote “Just canceled the newspaper that told us Democracy Dies In Darkness”, referring to the Washington Post.
In his previous tweet in reference to the Los Angeles Times, Hamill said “I canceled our subscription to the LA Times because I want to make it clear that I am not okay with them being silent.”
These tweets garnered backlash from many fans, who felt that Mark Hamill’s position was simply too extreme. Many fans claimed that Hamill’s reaction was unjustified and that he was trying to limit free speech.
Others sided with Hamill, however, with one user saying “The only thing worse than not endorsing is sitting on the sidelines.”
Leave a Reply