Cowardly. And stupid.

Cowardly? Yes. Stupid? I don’t think so.

Keep in mind that Trump is already taking his cues from the authoritarian playbook. He has threatened retaliation against media companies who don’t kowtow to his will. He’s said that CBS should have its broadcast license pulled.

I’m sure Bezos is not that concerned about the Post. He’s far more concerned about any potential retaliation hitting Amazon.

Contrary to Dope’s idiotic comment about the probability of Harris losing, Bezos is simply weighing the outcomes. If Harris wins, there is no real impact to the endorsement. Harris is not a corrupt egomaniac who would shower favors on those who endorse her. (Remember that the editorial staff was going to endorse Harris.) But if Trump wins, the Post having endorsed Harris would almost certainly be held against Bezos by Trump.

With no upside and only potential downsides to an endorsement of Harris, Bezos - like the billionaire owner of the LA Times - chose to put money ahead of principles and nix the planned Harris endorsement.

So not stupid, but definitely cowardly.

—Peter

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