Los Angeles Times owner’s daughter says Harris endorsement blocked over support for Gaza war

New York
CNN
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The daughter of Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong suggested Saturday that her father’s decision to block the newspaper’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris was made because of Harris’ support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Nika Soon-Shiong, a 31-year-old activist who has no official position at the newspaper but has previously accused of meddling within your reach, he told The New York Times. that she and her father made the decision not to endorse Harris.

“Our family has made a joint decision not to support a presidential candidate. “It was the first and only time I was involved in this process,” she said. “As a citizen of a country that openly finances genocide, and as a family that experienced South African apartheid, this support was an opportunity to reject justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and the ongoing war on children.”

Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire physician who bought the Los Angeles Times for $500 million in 2018, later denied her comments, saying she was not involved in the decision.

“Nika speaks on her own behalf and expresses her opinion, which is what every member of the community has the right to do. “He has no role at the LA Times and is not involved in any decisions or discussions with the editorial board, as has been made clear multiple times,” he said in a statement to CNN.

Rep. Niki Soon-Shiong did not respond to a request for comment.

The comments come a few days after Patrick Soon-Shiong’s surprising decision: blocked plans support Harris, sparking outrage at the paper and leading to a wave of readers canceling their subscriptions. Since endorsing Barack Obama in 2008, the newspaper has endorsed a candidate in every presidential election.

Three members of the Los Angeles Times editorial board resigned over the decision. Mariel Garza, editorial chairman of the newspaper that he resigned on Wednesdayshe told the New York Times that no reason was given for his refusal to endorse.

“If this was the reason Dr. Soon-Shiong blocked his endorsement of Kamala Harris, it was not communicated to me or the authors of the editorial,” Garza said in a statement. “If the family’s goal was to ‘reject justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and the ongoing war on children,’ their silence has not achieved that.”

“If the family’s goal was to ‘reject justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and the ongoing war on children,’ silence did not achieve that,” Garza added.

Niki Soon-Shiong’s statement comes a day after she addressed the “controversy and confusion surrounding LAT’s decision not to endorse a presidential candidate,” stating in a social media post that “genocide is a line in the sand.”

“This is not a vote for Donald Trump,” she wrote. This is a refusal to SUPPORT a candidate who oversees the war on children. I am proud of the LA Times’ decision, just as I am certain that there is no such thing as children of darkness. There is no such thing as human animals.”

In an interview this week, Patrick Soon-Shiong said that instead of an endorsement, he suggested the newspaper’s editorial board discuss the policy differences between Harris and Trump.

“I’m afraid if we chose either (candidate), it would just make the division bigger” – Soon-Shiong he told Spectrum News 1 SoCal.

“I desperately want us to get all the voices out there from the opinion side, the journalism side,” he said. “I don’t know how (readers) perceive me and our family as ‘ultra progressive’ or not, but I am independent.”

The Times isn’t the only one announcing an eleventh-hour reversal on endorsement precedents.

On Friday, the Washington Post announced that it would not support any candidate in this or any future presidential elections. As with the Times, the decision has been issued by the billionaire owner of the publisher and founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, the newspaper reported.

The Post was similarly criticized for changing its mind at the last minute.

“Announcing a moment of lofty principle just 11 days before the election, which is just highly suspicious and just not to be believed, that it was a matter of principle at that moment,” Marty Baron, former editor-in-chief of The Post, told CNN. Michael Smerconish on Saturday.