Washington Post string of exits over refusal to endorse a presidential candidate continues

Two more members of the Washington Post's editorial board resigned on Monday, after the paper declined to endorse a presidential candidate in the 2024 elections.

Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos reportedly told his editorial board last week that the paper would not endorse a presidential candidate for next week's election, or in future presidential elections, departing from recent elections when the board endorsed the Democratic candidates. One editor resigned over the order at the time.

Editorial board members Molly Roberts and David Hoffman announced their departures from the board in statements Monday. Both members indicated they were resigning from the board, but remaining at the publication, per the outlet.

"I'm resigning from the Post editorial board because the imperative to endorse Kamala Harris over Donald Trump is about as morally clear as it gets," Roberts said in a post on X. “Worse, our silence is exactly what Donald Trump wants: For the media, for us, to keep quiet.”

Roberts also claimed that the mission of the board was to "make the world a better place by supporting the better candidate, or the best policy, and by condemning the worst." 

The exits also come after the editorial editor at the Los Angeles Times resigned her post last week, because the owner of the paper reportedly told the editorial board not to endorse a presidential candidate this year.

Washington Post publisher William Lewis made the announcement on Friday, marking the first time that the national paper has not endorsed a presidential candidate in 36 years. 

“We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility. That is inevitable," Lewis wrote in a note to readers. “We don’t see it that way. We see it as consistent with the values The Post has always stood for.”

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.