'Wish we had made the change earlier': Bezos doubles down on nixing endorsements

Despite about 200,000 reported subscription cancelations, Washington Post owner and billionaire owner Jeff Bezos defended his decision to cease presidential endorsements days before the 2024 election, ending a decades-long tradition dating to the early 1990s.

Bezos, the world's third-wealthiest man and the chairman and founder of Amazon, doubled down on his decision in an opinion piece Monday night published on his paper's website. He cited America's loss in faith in news organizations, which has steadily fallen since the 1970s, as among the reasons not to endorse candidates.

"We must be accurate, and we must be believed to be accurate. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but we are failing on the second requirement," Bezos wrote.

Bezos called reality "undefeated" — and the reality, he said, is most people believe the media is biased. A "victim mentality" won't help, he added.

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"Anyone who doesn’t see this is paying scant attention to reality, and those who fight reality lose," he wrote.

Bezos added that presidential endorsements don't tilt elections — "they create a perception of bias." And even though ending the practice won't restore trust in the newspaper, he called it a meaningful step in the right direction.

"I wish we had made the change earlier than we did, in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it," he said. "That was inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy."

Bezos also tried to swat away any notion that he was capitulating to Trump in case the MAGA leader wins Nov. 5. The announcement came the same day that an executive from Blue Origin met with Trump.

The coincidence, he said, made him sigh due to the perception it created.

"I would also like to be clear that no quid pro quo of any kind is at work here. Neither campaign nor candidate was consulted or informed at any level or in any way about this decision. It was made entirely internally," he said.