Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has forbidden his paper Washington Post from endorsing any presidential candidate, marking the publication’s first break in 36 years from its traditional endorsement editorial.

Bezos, now 60, vetoed the backing of Democratic candidates for the first time since he took over the paper in 2013 in a move seen by many as an attempt to avoid Donald Trump’s wrath in case of a Republican win.

The surprising move has been met by fury among the legacy paper’s staff. Following the decision, Robert Kagan, one of the Post’s heavyweights, has stepped down although he didn’t specify the reasons.

Historically aligned with Democratic presidential hopefuls since 1976, barring a neutral stance in 1988, the Post threw its weight behind Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden during the 2016 and 2020 elections, reports the Telegraph.

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Support for the Democratic tickets was met with fierce criticism from Republican circles, with then-President Trump lashing out at both the Post and Bezos personally. In 2019, Amazon launched a legal challenge claiming it was cut out of a colossal $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing deal due to Trump applying “improper pressure … to harm his perceived political enemy”, directly naming Mr Bezos.

In a tight race between Trump and Ms Harris, the Post’s decision has been interpreted by some as a strategy to safeguard Mr Bezos’s commercial interests. Sir William Lewis, the chief executive of the Post, announced that the newspaper would refrain from endorsing any candidates in upcoming elections.

“We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates,” he declared. He acknowledged that this move could be interpreted in various ways, including as a subtle endorsement of one candidate, a criticism of another, or an evasion of responsibility.

“That is inevitable. We don’t see it that way. We see it as consistent 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.”

This decision was met with criticism from both current and former staff members. “This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty. Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners),” Martin Baron, a former editor of the Post, told the newspaper following the decision not to endorse a candidate.

“History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”

The Washington Post Guild, the union representing the newspaper’s staff, expressed “deep concern” over the decision.

“The message from our chief executive, Will Lewis – not from the Editorial Board itself – makes us concerned that management interfered with the work of our members in Editorial,” they stated.

“We are already seeing cancellations from once loyal readers.”

“This decision undercuts the work of our members at a time when we should be building our readers’ trust, not losing it.”