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Former WaPo editor claims Bezos colluded with Trump to destroy Harris’s support

Former WaPo editor claims Bezos colluded with Trump to destroy Harris’s support

A senior former editor of the Washington Post claims that the newspaper’s billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, struck a quid pro quo deal with former President Donald Trump to thwart the newspaper’s planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.

This was announced by longtime Post editor-in-chief Robert Kagan, who left his position on Friday after lacking support Everyday Beast that Trump met with executives from Blue Origin – the space company owned and operated by Bezos – after a Post report suggesting that Bezos had struck a deal with the eventual next president.

“Trump waited for Bezos to do what he promised and then met with the Blue Origin people,” he reportedly said.

“Which tells us that there was indeed a deal, which means that Bezos communicated or through his people communicated directly with Trump and they established this quid pro quo.”

Former editor-in-chief Robert Kagan claims Bezos made a deal with Trump before the election.

Despite the timing of the alleged meeting, Kagan provided no evidence of a quid pro-quo.

Representatives for Trump, Bezos and The Washington Post did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Kagan, who has long been a Trump critic, said the alleged collusion between Bezos and Trump “has been in the works for some time” and would lead to “major censorship” of the media as the billionaire acquiesces to Trump’s demands to comply with them to his own pocket – the portal reported.

Kagan abruptly resigned from his longtime position under CEO William Lewis announced that the newspaper would not support any presidential candidate neither in 2024 nor in any future races – breaking the newspaper’s 36-year tradition.

The newspaper published an article written by two reporters on Friday that said editorial staff had already drafted an endorsement for Harris on Trump and were waiting for approval from Lewis and Bezos before he was killed.

Sources speculate that the owner of The Washington Post did not want to alienate Trump less than two weeks before the election. AP

Bezos is the second richest person in the world by net worth valued by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index at $209 billion on Friday, was a frequent target of Trump during the first term – mainly due to the Washington Post’s coverage of his administration.

Trump is the Republican Party’s presidential candidate. Ron Sachs – CNP for the NY Post

Some WaPo insiders also believe the billionaire Amazon founder, who hasn’t spoken publicly about the 2024 election, doesn’t want to alienate the Republican challenger as he gains momentum to retake the White House next month.

“This is what we have to wait for,” Kagan said, according to The Daily Beast.

The Washington Post will not publish an endorsement of the president this year – marking the first time in 36 years that the paper has not gained any prominence. AFP via Getty Images

“All Trump has to do is threaten the corporate executives who run these organizations with real financial losses and they will bend the knee.”

Friday’s decision follows Los Angels Times, whose billionaire owner, Patrick Soon-Shiongalso refused to issue an endorsement, which led to: flood of resignations from his editorial office.

The Post’s decision also resulted in the cancellation of 2,000 subscriptions within 24 hours, which one employee said was an “extraordinarily large number.” – informed Semaphore.

Insiders say the newspaper drafted an endorsement of Harris before he was crushed. Washington Post via Getty Images

Furious high-ranking employees They widely commented on Friday’s announcement on social media.

Amid backlash over the claim that Bezos was responsible for the controversial decision, outlet publisher Lewis he denied these claims in a statement, emphasizing that he himself withdrew his endorsement due to his opposition to the president’s support.

“He has not been sent, he has not read or commented on any project. As a publisher, I do not believe in the president’s support. We are an independent newspaper and we should support our readers’ ability to make decisions,” Lewis said in a statement, according to The Daily Beast.

CEO William Lewis said he was the one who pulled the plug on the recommendation, not Bezos. Washington Post via Getty Images

But Kagan argued that this was “just the beginning” and that “all the facts” lead to Bezos attempting to turn the longtime newspaper into an “anti-Trump editorial posture,” according to the paper.

“Now we know what Bezos’ intentions were, so we now know why he hired Will Lewis,” he said.

“We were the ones who were naive to think there was something else going on here.”

Bezos, which bought the Washington Post in 2013, hired Lewis NPR sources say it’s partly because of his ability to get along with influential conservative politicians.