Former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron has blasted his former boss Jeff Bezos “betraying the principles he professed” after the paper announced it would not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

“Jeff Bezos showed no courage here,” Baron said in an interview on Boston Public Radio on Monday.

“I think this is a serious mistake and has done enormous damage to the Washington Post brand…I worry about the damage it does to the Post’s brand and reputation, and that people may be more suspicious today…” a he added.

The Post announced Friday that it would not provide an endorsement in the upcoming presidential election or any future, in what CEO and publisher Will Lewis said was a “return to our roots.” The post has endorsed a Democrat for president in every election since 1976, except for skipping one in 1988.

AHEAD OF THE NO-CARE DECISION, THE WASHINGTON POST CALLED TRUMP ‘THE INSIDER’ AND ‘THE WORST PRESIDENT OF MODERN TIMES’

Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron chided his former paper for the decision to withhold his endorsement. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The the decision immediately caused a scandal to the work “Democracy dies in the dark”. At least two Post staff members resigned from the paper, while two others left the newsroom while remaining on staff. Nineteen Post columnists signed a letter condemning the decision, specifically calling for Trump to be identified as a threat to the rule of law and the country. Subscribers reportedly canceled by the hundreds of thousands.

And the paper’s union worried that management was interfering with independent journalism amid reports that Bezos had forced the move in light of Trump’s possible return to power. The newspaper reportedly drafted an endorsement of Harris before the appeal was dropped.

Baron, who retired from the Post in 2021 after nearly a decade at the paper, criticized the move on X Friday in a post widely shared by Post columnists and reporters.

“This is cowardice, with democracy as the victim,” he wrote. “@realdonaldtrump will see this as an invitation to further bully owner @jeffbezos (and others). A disturbing lack of backbone in an institution renowned for courage.”

THE WASHINGTON POST LEAPS WHITE HOUSE APPROVAL, BUT LIBERAL BLANK STILL EVIDENT IN SENATE AND CASE

Baron blamed Bezos for making the call during his Boston Public Radio interview, saying he was disappointed with the billionaire founder of Amazon, which owns the Post, for bowing to “pressure from Donald Trump.”

“It’s disappointing because the whole time we had him there he stood up to that kind of pressure and stood by us,” Baron said of Bezos. “Trump has tried to undermine Amazon’s business in a number of ways and still stood behind us, and I’m just disappointed now to see that he’s not willing to continue with those principles.”

Baron said the decision was “a betrayal of the principles he (Bezos) professed and practiced when I was an editor at the Washington Post.”

Billionaire Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post in 2013.

The move is surprising given that Bezos “showed tremendous backbone and integrity in defending our work and not caving in to pressure” when Baron worked alongside him, he said, adding that he was “tremendously grateful for the support which he offered us” during this period. time.

Baron said he believes Trump’s increasing attacks on “perceived political enemies” have pressured the WaPo owner to reverse course.

“I think Trump has just become more virulent in his attacks … he always perceived Bezos as an enemy because of his ownership of the Washington Post and his distaste for Washington Post coverage.”

“I think this decision on presidential approval is a sign of weakness, and I hope it doesn’t lead to further signs of weakness,” he added.

Bezos defended the newspaper’s “principled decision” not to endorse a presidential candidate in an op-ed Monday night, citing a Gallup poll showing Americans losing trust in the media.

“Our profession is now the least trustworthy of all. Something we are doing is clearly not working,” he wrote.

Billionaire Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post in 2013. (Photo by Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP)

“We have to be accurate and we have to be believed to be accurate. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but we’re failing the second requirement,” he continued. “Most people think the media is biased. Anyone who doesn’t see this pays little attention to reality, and those who fight reality lose. Reality is an undefeated champion. It would be easy to blame others for our long and ongoing decline in credibility (and therefore diminishing impact), but a victim mentality won’t help Crying is not a strategy. We must strive to control what we can control to increase our credibility.

The billionaire Amazon founder, who bought The Post in 2013, insisted the newspaper’s claims “do nothing to tip the balance of the election” but “create a perception of bias.” He doubled down on The Post’s decision to end presidential support, saying it was a “principled decision and it’s the right one.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Washington Post did not immediately return calls Fox News Digital request for comment.

Fox News’ David Rutz and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.