File picture of Amazon CEO and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos
| Photo Credit: AP

Billionaire Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos on Monday (October 28, 2024) defended the newspaper’s decision not to endorse a U.S. presidential candidate as “right” and “principled” and pushed back against any notion that he ordered it up to protect his business interests.

That decision, announced Friday (October 25, 2024), has reportedly led to tens of thousands of people cancelling their subscriptions and protests from journalists with a deep history at the newspaper. The Post‘s editorial staff was prepared to endorse Democrat Kamala Harris before publisher Will Lewis wrote instead that it would be better for readers to make up their own minds.

Mr. Bezos, in “a note from our owner” published Monday evening, said that editorial endorsements create a perception of bias at a time many Americans don’t believe the media, and do nothing to tip the scales of an election.

“Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one,” Mr. Bezos said.

‘Inadequate planning’

Mr. Bezos wrote that he wished the decision to end presidential endorsements had been done earlier, “in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it. That was inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy.”

Mr. Bezos’ decision caused an unprecedented spasm of anger both within journalism and outside it.

NPR reported on Monday that more than 2,00,000 people have cancelled their subscriptions to the newspaper, citing “two people at the paper with knowledge of internal matters.” A Post spokeswoman, Olivia Petersen, would not comment on the NPR report.

Subscriptions fall

A loss of subscriptions of that magnitude would be a blow to a storied news outlet that is already facing financial headwinds. The Post had more than 2.5 million subscribers last year, the bulk of them digital, making it third behind The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in circulation.

In the decision’s wake, two of the newspaper’s columnists quit, and three of the nine members of the editorial board resigned their posts. The Post’s retired former editor, Martin Baron, who was editor when Mr. Bezos bought the paper, had denounced the decision on social media as “cowardice, with democracy as its casualty.”

The Post’s decision came only days after the Los Angeles Times also said it would not endorse a presidential candidate, which the newspaper has acknowledged has cost them thousands of subscribers.

Some critics suggested Mr. Bezos, also owner of Amazon, ordered the non-endorsement to protect his business interests, acting out of fear of retaliation if Donald Trump were elected. The Post endorsed Mr. Trump’s Democratic rivals in 2016 and 2020, and Mr. Trump has often denounced critical coverage by the paper.

Principled views

In his column, Mr. Bezos said people can see his wealth and business interests as one of two things — a bulwark against intimidation or a web of conflicting interests. He insisted that his views are principled and that his track record as Post owner since 2013 backs that up.

“I challenge you to find one instance in those 11 years where I have prevailed upon anyone at the Post in favor of my own interests,” he wrote. “It hasn’t happened.”

He acknowledged that the chief executive of one of his companies, the space-exploration outfit Blue Origin, met with Mr. Trump last week on the same day the non-endorsement was announced.

“I sighed when I found out, because I knew it would provide ammunition to those who would like to frame this as anything other than a principled decision,” Mr. Bezos wrote. “But the fact is, I didn’t know about the meeting beforehand.”

He said that while he doesn’t and won’t push his own personal interests, he wouldn’t allow the Post to “stay on autopilot and fade into irrelevance.”

“Many of the finest journalists you’ll find anywhere work at The Washington Post, and they work painstakingly every day to get to the truth,” he said. “They deserve to be believed.”

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is ‘glad’ that former US President Donald Trump is safe after reported gunshots near his Florida golf course on Sunday (local time).

The shooting, notably, took place at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Follow LIVE updates on the Donald Trump shooting

After the news of the incident broke out, Ms. Harris, sharing a post on social media, said that there is no place for violence in America.

“I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe,” the US Vice President wrote on X.

“Violence has no place in America,” she added.

According to the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden have both been informed about the security issue involving the former president when he was golfing earlier on Sunday and are both “relieved to know” that Donald Trump is safe, reported CNN.

“The President and Vice President have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing. They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team,” according to a statement from the White House.

Meanwhile, a suspect, who, according to the officials, is connected to Sunday’s shooting incident at Trump’s Florida Golf Course, has been taken into custody, CNN reported, citing a Facebook post from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.

The sheriff’s office “has stopped a vehicle and taken a suspect into custody,” the post said.

According to the office, a portion of Interstate 95 close to State Route 714 in Martin County is closed.

“We will update this information as it becomes available,” the post read.

Trump is “safe following gunshots in his vicinity,” the Trump Campaign said in a statement on Sunday, according to CNN.

The former President was playing golf at West Palm Beach’s Trump International Golf Club. As per a reliable source, the course was immediately secured following gunshots in the vicinity.

New Delhi:

Former US President Donald Trump’s dance moves at a public event on Friday have taken social media by storm. The annual Moms for Liberty event, held in Washington DC, saw 78-year-old Tump shake a leg on stage with the group’s co-founder. 

“Trump just ended his Moms For Liberty event with his impressive dance moves! Moms love Donald Trump! Kamala (Harris) definitely doesn’t want you to share this!” posted a Trump supporter with the video. 

TRUMP JUST ENDED HIS MOMS FOR LIBERTY EVENT WITH HIS IMPRESSIVE DANCE MOVES!

MOMS LOVE DONALD TRUMP!

Kamala definitely doesn’t want you to share this! pic.twitter.com/EV5BNLsyKM

— Bo Loudon (@BoLoudon) August 31, 2024

The internet is divided over the dance video. While some cheered Trump for being able to dance at the age of 78, some termed the entire episode as “comical”. 

“Trump is the people’s president!” wrote one user.

“He’s the worst version of the creepy, unstable uncle in the family,” wrote another.

Moms for Liberty, a national group that has made strides within conservative circles, has been at the forefront of efforts to influence school curricula across the United States. The organisation has led initiatives to remove references to LGBTQ+ identities and discussions of structural racism from classrooms.

The Republican presidential frontrunner discussed issues surrounding these topics and did not shy away from making pointed political comments, particularly aimed at US Vice President Kamala Harris. In his address, Trump described her as a “defective person.” He also expressed surprise at her limited media appearances, suggesting that her lack of interviews was indicative of her shortcomings as a leader. “I was surprised she didn’t do a lot of interviews, but she’s not good at it, I guess,” Trump said. 

The US Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in November this year and is largely seen as a direct battle between Trump and Harris. 

Washington:

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said Saturday that her Republican rival Donald Trump “disrespected sacred ground” at a US military cemetery during a contentious pre-election visit.

Trump’s presence at the hallowed Arlington National Cemetery — intended to provide a campaign boost ahead of the November 5 vote — has instead mushroomed into a public dispute consuming the candidates and the military.

“Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt,” Harris said of Monday’s incident at the cemetery near Washington, where Trump defied the rules and posed for photos with relatives of US service members killed in Afghanistan.

In one image, he is standing with family members of a fallen Marine, posing among headstones while grinning broadly and giving a thumbs-up.

“If there is one thing on which we as Americans can all agree, it is that our veterans, military families, and service members should be honored, never disparaged, and treated with nothing less than our highest respect and gratitude,” Harris wrote on X.

‘Abruptly pushed aside’

On Thursday, the US Army issued a rare statement confirming that a cemetery staff member had been “abruptly pushed aside” after asking Trump’s team to stop filming in a burial section for those killed in recent wars, where photography for political purposes is banned.

Trump’s campaign team has gone on the offensive by describing the employee as a “despicable individual” and claiming she was suffering a mental health episode.

But the military said the staff member had “acted with professionalism” and it condemned the incident as “unfortunate.”

Trump has made criticism of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the US retreat from Afghanistan a keynote of his campaign, arguing that he would have managed it better.

He visited the cemetery with families of some of the 13 service members killed in a 2021 bombing in Kabul during the last, chaotic hours of the US withdrawal.

Trump’s relationship with the military has long spawned controversy.

While often touting his support for the armed forces, he privately mocked the war dead while he was president and did not want to be seen near military amputees, according to his former chief of staff.

Harris’s blunt response Saturday over the cemetery incident appeared to underline her determination to take the fight directly to Trump in what is shaping up to be a bruising presidential election.

Trump has repeatedly mocked Harris’s name, intelligence, appearance and racial identity, while the Harris campaign has replied that the former president is “weird,” an aspiring dictator, and “out of his mind.”

Harris earlier faced withering criticism over the cemetery incident from Trump’s running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, who has launched a series of fierce attacks against the vice president.

Apparently responding to a mistaken report that Harris had already reacted to the cemetery visit, Vance accused her of feigning outrage and said, “She can go to hell.”

“Don’t focus on Donald Trump showing up to grieve with some people who lost their children. Focus on your own job. Don’t do this fake outrage thing,” he later told the Washington Post.

At that point Harris had not publicly mentioned the cemetery visit.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Vice President Kamala Harris opened up a marginal two-percentage-point lead over Republican Donald Trump after President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and passed the torch to her, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The poll, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, followed both the Republican National Convention where Trump on Thursday formally accepted his party’s nomination and the Biden announcement on Sunday he was leaving the race and endorsing Harris.

Harris, whose campaign says she has secured the Democratic nomination, led Trump 44% to 42% in the national poll, a difference within the 3-percentage-point margin of error.

Harris and Trump were tied at 44% in a July 15-16 poll, and Trump led by one percentage point in a July 1-2 poll, both within the same margin of error.

While nationwide surveys give important signals of American support for political candidates, just a handful of competitive states typically tilt the balance in the U.S. Electoral College, which ultimately decides who wins a presidential election.

The most recent poll showed 56% of registered voters agreed with a statement that Harris, 59, was “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,” compared to 49% who said the same of Trump, 78.

Only 22% of voters assessed Biden that way.

Biden, 81, ended his reelection effort after a debate with Trump in which he often stammered and failed to aggressively challenge attacks by Trump that included falsehoods.

When voters in the survey were shown a hypothetical ballot that included independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Harris led Trump 42% to 38%, an advantage outside the margin of error. Kennedy, favored by 8% of voters in the poll, has yet to qualify for the ballot in many states ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

The poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,241 U.S. adults nationwide, including 1,018 registered voters.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)