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Donald Trump weaponizes non-endorsements from The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S., October 30, 2024. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters via CNN Newsource) Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S., October 30, 2024. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters via CNN Newsource)
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The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and USA Today may have declined to endorse a candidate in this year鈥檚 presidential election. But former President Donald Trump doesn鈥檛 see it that way.

Speaking at a rally in North Carolina, Trump claimed Wednesday that the papers鈥 non-endorsements are actually a stamp of approval for his campaign.

鈥淭he Washington Post and Los Angeles Times, and all these papers. They鈥檙e not endorsing anybody. You know what they鈥檙e really saying - because they only endorse Democrats - they鈥檙e saying this Democrat鈥檚 no good. They鈥檙e no good. And they think I鈥檓 doing a great job. They just don鈥檛 want to say it,鈥 he said.

鈥淲ashington [Post] and USA Today, congratulations. I just heard USA Today has not endorsed. They said we鈥檙e not going to endorse. That means that they think she鈥檚 no good,鈥 he added, referencing Vice President Kamala Harris.

Leadership at all three major newspapers have tried to push the notion that their non-endorsements were meant to build back readers鈥 trust and address perceptions that the news media is biased, stating they would prefer that their journalists inform readers to make their own voting decisions.

The Washington Post publisher Will Lewis in his announcement that the paper would skip an endorsement that 鈥渢his 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. We don鈥檛 see it that way.鈥

Instead, Lewis said he saw the non-endorsement, breaking with decades of tradition, as 鈥渃onsistent with the values The Post has always stood 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.鈥

The editorial boards of both the Post and the Times were set to endorse Harris before they were blocked by their papers鈥 respective billionaire owners, Jeff Bezos and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. Following the decisions, staffers at both publications in protest.

Many current and former journalists at the newspapers worried that Trump would do exactly as he did Wednesday: weaponize the non-endorsement as a stamp of approval for himself. Others have expressed fear that part of the rationale behind the decision not to endorse was to protect the business interests of their owners in the event Trump wins re-election, though a direct quid pro quo.

A Washington Post spokesperson referred CNN to Lewis鈥 statement from last week. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the wake of the non-endorsements, more than 250,000 Post readers their subscriptions, while the more than 7,000 subscribers canceled for 鈥渆ditorial reasons.鈥

CNN鈥檚 Kate Sullivan contributed reporting.

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