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Former Vice President Kamala Harris called out The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times in her new book, “107 Days,” over their refusal to endorse a presidential candidate in 2024.
“The Los Angeles Times, my hometown newspaper, published its electoral endorsements,” she wrote, recalling the Oct. 14 piece published by the paper. “The very first line of the article stated: ‘It’s no exaggeration to say this may be the most consequential election in a generation.’ But there was no mention of the most consequential race of all.”
The LA Times, owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong, declined to endorse a presidential candidate, and The Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, followed suit.
“The pre-capitulation of these powerful billionaires alarmed and dispirited me. As it turned out, they were early adopters of the feckless posture that would be embraced by a raft of business leaders and institutions once Trump was elected. They’d just been the first in line to grovel,” Harris wrote after noting the Post’s non-endorsement and in reference to President Donald Trump’s eventual election victory.
WASHINGTON POST UNION, STAFFERS REVOLT OVER DECISION NOT TO ENDORSE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, BLAME BEZOS
Harris’s new book was released on Tuesday and recounts her historically short presidential campaign that followed former President Joe Biden’s decision to exit the race.
The LA Times announced in late October the editorial board wouldn’t be endorsing a candidate for the first time since 2008. As a result, the paper’s editorials editor, Mariel Garza, resigned over what she alleges was the owner’s decision not to endorse Harris.
The LA Times told Fox News Digital “an endorsement by the Los Angeles Times is an important decision that can influence a large number of voters. After thoughtful consideration, the owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, could not endorse Vice President Harris, based on the record of the Biden administration and her own track record. Competence matters!”
The Post announced days later that the editorial board would not be endorsing a presidential candidate in the 2024 election or any future presidential election.
William Lewis, publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, called the decision at the time “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.”
BEFORE NON-ENDORSEMENT DECISION, WASHINGTON POST CALLED TRUMP ‘DREADFUL’ AND ‘WORST PRESIDENT OF MODERN TIMES’
The paper has only endorsed Democratic presidential candidates, except in 1988 when it declined to endorse Democrat Michael Dukakis.
The Washington Post did not immediately return a request for comment.
USA Today and The Minnesota Star Tribune also declined to endorse a presidential candidate in the 2024 election.
Harris quoted former Washington Post editor Marty Baron’s reaction to the paper’s non-endorsement in her book, writing, “This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty. Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
Harris also highlighted Alexandra Petri, who now writes for The Atlantic but previously served as a political humor columnist at the Post.
“But if I were the paper, I would be a little embarrassed that it has fallen to me, the humor columnist, to make our presidential endorsement. I will spare you the suspense: I am endorsing Kamala Harris for president, because I like elections and want to keep having them,” Petri wrote at the time.
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