Expect the Unexpected in Presidential Elections By David Reel  

Few places in America outside of the political arena are more likely to affirm the timeless observation — always expect the unexpected.

This was certainly the case with regard to the 2024 Presidential election.

Relatively few people expected Joe Biden would perform so poorly in a debate with Donald Trump, and that his performance marked the beginning of the end of Biden’s re-election campaign.

Conversely, relatively few people expected Kamala Harris’s performance in her debate with Donald Trump would go well enough to temporarily jump start her ultimately unsuccessful campaign.

Relatively few people expected Donald Trump would win the election for a delayed second term with a significant majority of the popular vote and a solid majority in the Electoral College.

Less noticed, but important to consider, was the unexpected pivots by at least two left of center national newspapers — The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times — on their candidate endorsement decisions.

These pivots were especially noteworthy as all three of them endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Joe Biden in 2020. Expectations were all three would endorse Kamala Harris in 2024. It did not happen.

Only The New York Times endorsed Harris.

The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times did not endorse Harris or Trump.

In the case with The Washington Post, publisher Will Lewis announced a new no presidential endorsements policy at the Post, not only for the 2024 presidential general election, but for future presidential general elections.

In announcing new policy Lewis said, “We recognize that this 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’t see it that way. We see as a statement in support of our readers’ ability to make up their own minds on this, the most consequential of American decisions — whom to vote for as the next president. I am very excited about this new clarity and transparency and cannot wait to see it brought to life in our opinion section. Every Day.”

He also wrote in a memo to the staff at the Post — “This is not about siding with any political party. This is about being crystal clear about what we stand for as a newspaper. Doing this is a critical part of serving as a premier news publication across America and for all Americans.”

Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post and founder of Amazon, who purchased the newspaper after it was owned by the Meyer-Graham family for over eighty years, also recently wrote a memo to Post employees.

He wrote, “We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too, of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.”

Bezos also wrote, “There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job.”

In the case of The Los Angeles Times, Dr. Patrick Soon Shiong, a surgeon and entrepreneur who has been is the owner and Executive Chair of the paper since 2018, asked the editorial board to do a factual analysis of the policies of Harris and those of Trump during his first term.

He also asked them to provide their understanding of the policies and plans of Trump and Harris that they presented during this campaign and its potential effect on the nation in the next four years.

He wrote, “In this way, with this clear and non-partisan information side-by-side, our readers could decide who would be worthy of being president for the next four years.”

He noted the board “chose to remain silent and I accepted their decision.”

Going forward, it will be most interesting to see what The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times decide on their policies regarding presidential general election endorsements in the 2028 election cycle.

I predict The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times will maintain their most recent policy decisions and will not make general election endorsements in that election cycle.

I also predict The New York Times will maintain their most recent policy decision and will make general election endorsements in that election cycle.

For now, all I can write with certainty is they all have the power and a demonstrated willingness to retain or change their endorsement policies at any time for any reason.

That said, always expect the unexpected in the political arena.

David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant who lives in Easton.