Cancel your Amazon Prime membership and keep reading the Washington Post.

Last Friday, Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, made a controversial statement. The Post (WaPo) would express an opinion regarding who should be the next president of the United States.

Bezos’ comment, which stunned and enraged millions of people, became Endorsement-gate. It ignited a full-blown insurrection.

NPR writer David Folkenflik documented subscriber feedback on X. 250,000 subscribers abandoned their WaPo memberships only four days after the news. It’s likely that additional subscribers will follow suit.

Bezos’ actions are another tragedy in a months-long WaPo debacle. The Post's endorsement of Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris was widely anticipated.

Third-largest U.S. newspapers

As of 2023, The Post has 135,980 print subscribers and 2.5 million digital members. WaPo is the third-largest U.S. newspaper after The New York Times and Te Wall Street Journal.

The Amazon oligarch didn’t know or care about the mass exodus of subscribers. It was reported by The New York Post that Jeff Bezos partied in Italy with Katy Perry as WaPo dissolved into chaos over Harris’s non-endorsement.

When pressed about his decision, Bezos stood on principle, “What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias,” he wrote, “A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one.”

The outrage over Bezos’ decision became a full-blown hemorrhage at the esteemed organization.

Subscribers are not the only ones protesting with their cancellations. Some of The Post’s esteemed contributors and columnists have resigned, and more staff resignations are expected.

An exodus of staff

Veteran Post contributor Robert Kagan and columnist Michele Norris blasted Bezos, citing his refusal to endorse Harris as their reason for resigning.

Furthermore, three members of The Post’s editorial board resigned from the panel. The board devises the paper’s unsigned opinions. The three members remained on staff for now. But for how long?

An open letter signed by 21 Post-op-ed writers as of Monday night was released right before Bezos’ column. It was an extraordinary open letter condemning the decision not to endorse.

The joint writers said that not to endorse it “is a terrible mistake. It represents an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love….”

“There is no contradiction between The Post’s important role as an independent newspaper and its practice of making political endorsements, both as a matter of guidance to readers and as a statement of core beliefs.”

Journalists don’t deserve to be punished.

Experts insist there is a better way to rebuke Jeff Bezos, at least without punishing journalists who need support at this difficult crossroads.

The anger at The Post journalists and staff is misplaced. It should be redirected to the owner, Jeff Bezos. He is solely responsible for the unconvincing attempt to portray the Post as neutral.

Why would Bezos suddenly block a traditional presidential endorsement? He insisted that no quid pro quo was involved. However, political experts have pointed out that Bezos might lose lucrative government contracts if Trump wins.

Bezos and many other billionaires are concerned Trump would wreak revenge on them.

Trump promised that if elected, he would come for his many perceived enemies, including anyone who endorsed Harris. No wonder Bezos, Musk, and other billionaire cowards are hiding in the bushes.

Redirect your anger at Bezos.

Instead of canceling your Post subscription, Laura Miller of Slate suggested a good alternative. She says you “should cancel your Amazon Prime.” As Miller points out, the paper didn’t decide not to endorse a presidential candidate this year. Bezos did.

Although Bezos no longer wholly owns Amazon, it remains the source of his great wealth and power. Even after a divorce as of November 1, 2024, Bezos is the second wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of $217 billion, according to Forbes.

By canceling Amazon Prime and posting your outrage, you are redirecting your anger toward Bezos from journalists who may lose their jobs to a nameless, faceless retail giant.

You’re taking a stand against him selling out journalism for money. And bowing to his obvious fear of Trump. Plus, there are many other good reasons not to patronize Amazon and reward Bezos. Although I’m sure many people will react with anger.

Support journalists who strive to publish the truth.

If you cancel your subscription to The Post, you don’t punish Jeff Bezos. Not even a little bit. The money it generates is a drop in the bucket of his billions.

But you are punishing all the journalists who write essential stories to keep people informed. Those journalists are fighting for democracy and freedom of the press. They want to help stop all the despots like the man who wants to be the dictator of our country.

Those journalists include the people who wrote and prepared to publish the very endorsement of Harris. It didn’t happen because of Bezos, not them. Those people should not be punished. They were doing their jobs.

I don’t blame The Post for not endorsing Harris, even though I know they wanted to. I know they are caught in the Bezos Billionaire Boy’s Club, which is running scared of Trump.

My point with this story is that if you want to cancel something, don’t penalize the journalists at the WaPo. Cancel your Amazon Prime. That gives you an outlet for your anger, but don’t put innocent journalists at risk.

This is a tragic story for our country and everyone who supports democracy and the freedom of the press.