Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Let me be clear. My publication The Hutchinson Report was one of the first in the door to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President. I’ve made financial contributions to her campaign, wrote op-eds in support, and been a continuous avid backer of the Harris presidential campaign. BUT, deliberate caps, I not only did not cancel my subs to the Washington Post or LA Times, but considered it a wrong headed, misguided, ill informed gross over reaction by those who scream for the boycott of them.
Here’s why. First, dozens of newspapers don’t and never have endorsed a presidential candidate as a matter of policy. How many? Here’s some sobering numbers. In 2008 ninety two of the nation’s one hundred largest circulation newspapers endorsed a presidential candidate. In 2020 the figure plunged to nearly half the number.
Second, in the 2016 presidential contest nearly all the major newspapers endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Trump got almost none from them. We know just how much good those endorsements did Clinton. If anything a plausible argument could be made that these endorsements did more harm than good for her.
They simply gave more ammunition to Trump and his legions to scream see see I told you the liberal elites and liberal media have it in for me. This stirred even more rally around Trump passion from his swelling MAGA Nation.
Third, there is not and never has been any mandatory requirement that newspapers endorse any politician for any office, let alone the presidency. Those that do endorse do it solely out of a custom or candidate liking, nothing more.
No, the publishers of the Times and Post had the legitimate right not to endorse. Those who scream they don’t totally missed the boat on this one.