WashPost Editor Resigns After Endorsement Withheld

Robert Kagan, editor-at-large of the Washington Post and a persistent neoconservative critic of Republican former President Donald Trump, resigned from the newspaper's editorial board Friday, according to multiple media reports, hours after it declined to endorse anyone for president for the first time since 1988.

Kagan in editorials painted a grim picture of second Trump term, warning it will be a dictatorship. He is married to Victoria Nuland, a former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in the Biden-Harris administration and a staunch advocate of Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Members of the Post's editorial board were surprised Friday when they learned about the decision not to endorse from top opinion editor David Shipley, Semafor reported. The board drafted an endorsement of Harris earlier this month, which was sent to the newspaper's owner, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who reportedly pressured publisher and CEO Will Lewis to not give an endorsement. 

One person familiar with the situation told Semafor the decision not to endorse impacted subscriptions. In the 24 hours ending Friday afternoon, about 2,000 subscriptions were canceled, an unusually high number, an employee said. Another email that the Post sent to subscribers Friday also prompted a flurry of complaints from readers about the newspaper's lack of an endorsement.

Kagan's departure comes days after three staff members at the Los Angeles Times reportedly resigned after that publication refused to endorse Harris for president. The Times, like the Post, did not endorse either candidate.

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