Woodward, Bernstein rip Washington Post for withholding endorsement: 'Disappointing'
Former Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein issued a statement condemning the publication’s decision not to endorse a candidate in the 2024 election cycle.
“We respect the traditional independence of the editorial page, but this decision 11 days out from the 2024 presidential election ignores the Washington Post's own overwhelming reportorial evidence on the threat Donald Trump poses to democracy,” the two told CNN’s Brian Stelter Friday.
Woodward and Bernstein are well known and respected for their reporting on the Watergate scandal for the Post. Their coverage spanned across a decade and led to a sense of familiarity with the company's political style and structure.
“Under Jeff Bezos’s ownership, the Washington Post’s news operation has used its abundant resources to rigorously investigate the danger and damage a second Trump presidency could cause to the future of American democracy and that makes this decision even more surprising and disappointing, especially this late in the electoral process,” the journalists wrote in the statement.
The Post reported that its owner Jeff Bezos overturned the editorial board’s original decision to endorse Vice President Harris. Woodward and Bernstein said his choice vastly differs from the past.
As a result, editor-at-large Robert Kagan resigned and readers began canceling their subscriptions after the news was released. The outlet’s former executive editor Marty Baron also publicly denounced the lack of endorsement calling the choice “cowardice.”
“This is cowardice, with democracy as its casualty,” Baron wrote in a post on the social platform X. “@realdonaldtrump will see this as an invitation to further intimidate owner @jeffbezos (and others). Disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”
This is the first time in 36 years that the Post has not endorsed a candidate.