Running down a list of candidates endorsed by California’s largest newspaper, there is something missing — an endorsement for California resident and Vice President Kamala Harris.
A report from Semafor said that the owner of the Los Angeles Times, “the largest metropolitan newspaper in the U.S.,” blocked the editorial board from continuing its string of Democratic presidential endorsements that dates back to former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.
The report, which cited sources it did not name, said executive editor Terry Tang told editorial board staff that Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who owns the newspaper, had ordered that no endorsement be made in the presidential contest.
🚨🚨Kamala Harris is so unpopular that even the EXTREMELY liberal LA Times, which is the biggest newspaper in Kamala Harris’s home state of California, has decided NOT to endorse her.
If this doesn’t prove that Kamala Harris is a terrible candidate, I don’t know what will! pic.twitter.com/vP5yRmcQfI
— 🇺🇸↪️aptain Ⓜ️organ🇺🇸 (@CaptainMorganTN) October 22, 2024
No explanation for Soon-Shiong’s reasoning was given.
A representative of the paper said, “We do not comment on internal discussions or decisions about editorials or endorsements.”
In its endorsements, the Times noted that the election is critical.
Do you read the Los Angeles Times?
“It’s no exaggeration to say this may be the most consequential election in a generation. And we’re not just talking about the presidential race. From the top of the ticket to local ballot measures, California voters this year are grappling with major decisions that will shape their lives and communities for years to come,” the Times wrote in its endorsements.
The editorial also said that the paper “endorses selectively, choosing the most consequential races in which to make recommendations.”
The Trump campaign said Harris suffered a “humiliating blow” by not having the newspaper endorse her, according to KTLA.
“Even her fellow Californians know she’s not up for the job,” the campaign said in a statement.
Semafor reported that in 2020, Soon-Shiong blocked the editorial board from endorsing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in the Democratic presidential primary. The LA Times endorsed President Joe Biden in the 2020 general election.
As the campaign enters its final days, some Democrats are already second-guessing Harris for prioritizing a pro-abortion Texas speech and supporting Democratic Rep. Colin Allred in his Senate campaign over making swing state visits, according to the New York Post.
“They are not thinking ‘Blue Wall’ at all. They are just not thinking,” said one Democrat, who the Post did not name.
“Her press operation is that of a first-time congressional candidate running as a sacrificial lamb,” the source said.
“I think her press team actually works for Trump,” the Democrat said.
The “Blue Wall” refers to Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which have been won by a Democrat every year since 1992 — except for 2016, when former President Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton.
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