What do you think of the Washington Post not endorsing? I mean, they're justifying it by saying they're going to go back to their roots that they didn't used to endorse. They, you know, they've been endorsing, by the way, since the 1980s. Remember what their slogan was, Katie. Democracy dies in darkness. [00:00:16] Boy, that's a good one. Talk about irony. Democracy dies in darkness. And so they've decided to go dark for the rest of the campaign, at least editorially. A lot of courage out there these days. Loads of courage. First, it was the Los Angeles Times, then it was the Washington Post. [00:00:34] And now, just today, news broke that USA today has also decided to avoid endorsing a presidential candidate. But for the purposes of this discussion, let's talk about the turmoil that's currently unfolding at the Washington Post. Because for the first time in 36 years, the paper announced that it will [00:00:52] not endorse a presidential candidate. And it's all because of one man, their billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, who clearly suspects that Donald Trump is going to win the presidential election and he doesn't want retaliation if that does in fact happen, at least [00:01:08] that's what the suspicion is here. So the decision to not endorse in this or any future presidential races was announced in a column written by William Lewis, the publisher and CEO of The Washington Post. Here's what he wrote. [00:01:23] We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility that is inevitable. We don't see it that way. We see it as a we see it as consistent with the values the post has always stood [00:01:43] for, and what we hope for in a leader, character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects. And he also says that we also see it as a statement [00:02:00] in support of our readers ability to make up their own minds on this, the most consequential of American decisions on whom to vote for as the next president. But while that was the public statement turns out behind the scenes, Mr. Lewis [00:02:15] was not happy about this decision at all. Behind the scenes, it turns out that Lewis and the Post's opinion editor, David Shipley, were actually fighting Jeff Bezos tooth and nail to avoid making this call. But Bezos made the call anyway. [00:02:30] Privately, they tried and failed to make a case not to abandon the tradition so close to an election. Now, this has caused an uproar. A lot of, you know, paid subscribers to The Washington Post canceled their subscriptions. [00:02:46] The latest number I saw was around 200,000 subscribers. Robert Kagan, an editor at large who has written for the post for more than two decades, resigned almost immediately following this decision. Others have resigned, too. Editorial board members Molly Roberts and David Hoffman have both stepped down from [00:03:05] their positions on the board, and more are reportedly considering doing the same. So another member told Semafor. People are shocked, furious, surprised. If you don't have the balls to own a newspaper, don't. 20 opinion writers at The Post also slammed the decision with their own column, [00:03:24] writing that The Washington Post decision not to make an endorsement in the presidential campaign is a terrible mistake. It represents an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love. An independent newspaper might someday choose to back away [00:03:40] from making presidential endorsements. But this isn't the right moment when one candidate is advocating positions that directly threaten freedom of the press and the values of the Constitution. And again, the paper has lost 200,000 subscribers since Bezos pulled the Harris endorsement. [00:03:56] And that represents 8% of its base in just a few days. Yeah, so I have a lot of mixed feelings about this story. So stay with me on this. Number one on Bezos. He actually wants people complaining about it. [00:04:12] Why? Because he wants it crystal clear. Donald Trump, don't hit me. I, I protected you by not doing any endorsement at all. Why is he getting that message out there? Because Donald Trump is lawless. [00:04:27] And especially after they couldn't get him for all of his lawbreaking. There's going to be no accountability if he's president again. And he has threatened Amazon before. You have to understand Amazon is worth over $1 trillion. He bought the Washington Post for 250 million. [00:04:46] A quarter of a billion versus over a trillion. So Amazon has government contracts. Amazon can be greatly affected by regulation or deregulation. He's got billions and billions on the line when Trump gets back into office. [00:05:03] So for him the Washington Post is a little thing. And he wants everybody screaming oh my God, Bezos is doing Donald Trump a favor, right? Okay. He's a businessman. And so now to the folks who are complaining about it, guys, he owns the paper. [00:05:19] What did you think when he bought it that he doesn't own it? No, he does that. He's not going to affect things. Murdoch, when he bought the Wall Street Journal, he was like, oh my God, I won't touch a thing. If we see everything that Rupert Murdoch owns, he totally controls their editorial. [00:05:36] And so what happened at the Wall Street Journal? 100% controls their editorial. Why? Because he owns it. That's not that complicated a thing to understand. And look, was this going to really move any votes? Are you serious guys like the people reading the Washington Post and the people [00:05:53] that have canceled their subscription? I got news for you. They were voting Kamala Harris. Okay, so the idea that The Washington Post is so respected by the whole country, including undecided voters and maybe even MAGA, that they would read the Washington Post editorial and go, oh, I think they're right. [00:06:09] I'm voting for Kamala Harris. That was not going to happen. It was not going to move one single vote. Okay, so bring it down. So why are they actually that upset? So look, there's legitimate reasons. Are you an organization that does honest journalism or do you hide your opinions? [00:06:27] That's relevant? I'm going to come back to that in a second. But the other in my opinion, the main reason is. Folks, unfortunately, and I hate this. We don't do it. And it hurts us sometimes when we don't do it. - People just want their views reaffirmed. - Yeah, totally. [00:06:43] And so the people who read the Washington Post. They wanted it reaffirmed that Kamala Harris should be the president and Trump shouldn't. So when the. Washington Post editorial board doesn't reaffirm that feeling, they get really mad. And they get. Frustrated. And I know we're on the left, but we've criticized Obama. [00:06:59] We've criticized Biden and Harris. We've criticized the extreme left. And people get really mad. They say, reaffirm what we already think. No, our job is news. Our job is truth to the best of our abilities. We don't have a monopoly on it, but we try really hard to the point [00:07:16] where we'll piss off our own audience. Okay, but the Washington and here Bezos is doing it. Not out of the like because he's pure for the exact opposite reason. Right? That's right. But understand that like, none of these organizations are pure. All you were doing is like emotional gratification [00:07:32] for your readers and viewers anyway. I mean, what are they doing on MSNBC? What are they doing on The View? What are they doing on Fox News? All emotional gratification for the people who already believe that. So I also have mixed feelings on this, especially in regard to the importance [00:07:49] of a newspaper endorsing a presidential candidate. I agree with you. I don't think it really makes a difference. I also agree with you. The reason why people are so upset about this is they're looking for a validation of of where they stand on this election. [00:08:04] But the other thing that I'll just say is I actually do take issue with the fact that a single person, the newspaper's owner, can essentially Veto what the editorial board intended to do. And look, it's not like this is a rarity. [00:08:21] I think this is actually a teachable moment for most Americans. So you understand how media in America actually works. It is very rare to find any publication or any network that actually allows its hosts and its journalists [00:08:38] to do their jobs as they see fit to to freely speak about these issues without worry about retaliation. TYT might literally be the only place that I've experienced, okay, where my boss is not telling me what I can and can't say. [00:08:53] I run my mouth on this show every day, sometimes to the point where I upset our own audience and you still give me that freedom. But that is a rarity, guys. Most owners will use their publications or use these media outlets in order to propagate their point of view and various ideas that benefit them and enrich them. [00:09:14] And that is a problem with how media is set up in this country. Well, look, if you stop subscribing to the Washington Post and you want actual honesty in reporting and being frank with you guys and actual open minds where we have real discussions, well then come subscribe to us tyt.com/team. [00:09:32] Or you can hit the join button. But as you'll find out we're not playing. We're going to say things that make you uncomfortable. And you're going to say, well, wait, I want you to agree with me. But no two human beings ever agree on everything. It doesn't make sense. This whole idea that both the left and the right have is, well, no, there's [00:09:51] already a preset ideology and everyone should agree with a preset ideology. That's nuts. That's not going to happen. And in especially in a network like ours where we have independent thinkers, I'm not going to tell people, you must fall in line. [00:10:06] You must have the same opinions as me or as anyone else. That's boring, that's uninteresting, and you learn nothing from it. I have to say one more thing about this. That's really important. For all the people who are so upset that they're pulling their paid subscriptions from the Washington Post. [00:10:21] And also to you, Jake. You know, the point that you're making about former subscribers to the post, you know, now supporting us, we rely on publications like The Washington Post, the journalism that is carried out by by these publications. Now, every publication is a mixed bag, but there have been incredible [00:10:40] investigative reports carried out by the reporters over at The Washington Post. So when you're essentially defunding this organization because you're upset over the lack of presidential endorsement, you are taking jobs away from investigative journalists, of [00:10:57] which there are few left in this country. So just consider the damage that can be done by reacting instead of stopping and thinking about, okay, what's the best course of action? And I can understand if you don't want to support The Washington Post because you're super upset at Bezos, I understand that. [00:11:13] But there's also now damage being done, essentially throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Because we need these reporters, we need these journalists. I value them and I value the work they do. Okay. Damn it, Anna, now you're going to get me to be honest again. Okay. That's what we do here. She's right. Go subscribe to the Washington Post. So look it. [00:11:31] Because text is so much more important than television, to be honest. Print. Yep. Like you turn on cable news. It's a dumpster fire. 100% nothing but propaganda. So MSNBC couldn't find a single thing wrong with the Biden administration. Fox news can't find a single thing wrong with Donald Trump. [00:11:49] It's absurd. Totally absurd. But Washington Post, New York Times deeply frustrated me from time to time. We share that frustration with you, with you guys. But at the end of the day, they also do real journalism. They're not all the time. And the way that they shade the truth in favor of the establishment [00:12:04] drives me crazy. But yes, they have wonderful reporters. AP, Reuters Real journalism. We need objective reporting. We can't do our job without them doing their job. So make sure you're supporting outlets. Go help the Guardian. Go help the lever. [00:12:19] Go help The Intercept. Ryan Grim and Jeremy Scahill's new operation, etc.. Drop site news. Drop site news and and look. You cancel your subscription. Doesn't affect Jeff Bezos at all. He's he's the I mean, I don't believe Elon Musk is rich, but it doesn't matter. [00:12:38] He's the richest or the second richest man in the world. He's not going to miss your subscriptions at all. And Washington Post is a tiny, tiny asset for him. He could barely even notice if the whole thing went under. Right? So go wherever you find journalism you love. [00:12:54] Please go support them, because they definitely need it. And the whole country and the world needs it. Absolutely. Thanks for watching The Young Turks really appreciate it. Another way to show support is through YouTube memberships. You'll get to interact with us more. There's live chat emojis, badges. [00:13:09] You've got emojis of me Anna John Jr. So those are super fun. But you also get playback of our exclusive member only shows and specials right after they air. So all of that, all you got to do is click that join button right underneath the video. [00:13:25] Thank you.