The top opinion editor at The Washington Post he had a frank conversation with his staff, angered by the decision not to make a presidential endorsement, telling them they could resign if they couldn’t come to terms with it.

The Washington Free Beacon obtained a registration of a tense meeting Monday led by The Post’s editorial page editor, David Shipley. According to the Free Beacon, Shipley told opinion staff that they are free to express their dissent, but ultimately decide whether they can stay or go.

“Whatever you decide, I’m good at it,” Shipley said. “What I really want to get across is don’t get stuck in the middle. Don’t be here if you don’t want to be.”

Shipley told staff that he “went very hard” to convince The Post’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos to overturn the decision by phone call, ultimately failing to do so.

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Washington Post editorial page editor David Shipley told his staff to either accept a decision not to endorse a presidential candidate or resign from the paper during a tense meeting. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

He compared the decision to a “bomb” that “exploded, and now we’re picking up the pieces.” He complained at the meeting that Bezos was destroying The Post’s reputation as an “independent journalistic organization” and objected to the timing of the decision, noting how it could be interpreted by readers.

Shipley was asked if Bezos expressed who should endorse The Post. He replied, “I will not say for whom he expressed his desire or for whom he supported, for it is not my place.”

“One thing that cannot happen in this country is that Trump gets four more years,” one publisher said at the meeting, according to the Free Beacon.

Washington Post op-ed writer Drew Goins reportedly suggested that one way around the decision was to publish an op-ed denouncing former President Trump without calling it an “endorsement” of Vice President Kamala Harris.

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“We could, tomorrow, come out as an editorial board and say, again, Trump is a danger to the republic, Kamala Harris is by far the best choice, it’s important to vote in the election, we urge you to get out and vote. Does the board have the independence to say that without using the word ‘approval?'” Goins asked.

“I think I was working with a misunderstanding of how editorial boards work until Friday,” Goins later said. “I was quite surprised at such a direct intervention in the tin by the owner.”

Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos wrote in an op-ed that his decision to end presidential support was based on a lack of trust in legacy media. ((Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage) ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images)

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Several employees have expressed concern about the control Bezos may have over the newspaper in the future. Opinion editor Dana Milbank wondered if the billionaire could step in “if it benefits Jeff’s business interests and trumps our journalism,” a concern she told the Free Beacon.

“I’ve always been able to answer with a clear conscience that our owner, Jeff Bezos, doesn’t meddle with our copy, doesn’t tell us when we can’t publish something… I feel like I can’t say that anymore,” columnist Catherine Rampell said. “Who’s going to believe that it’s true, that we’re not just following his wish, that we’re still an independent journalistic organization?”

Eugene Robinson, the liberal columnist and MSNBC contributor, said The Post “has pissed off and (driven away) many of our most loyal and passionate readers.” Another opinion staff member insisted that “the damage to the board and the section and the paper is incalculable.”

“The failure to raise our voices strongly in revulsion against Donald Trump and all he stands for breaks my heart,” columnist Ruth Marcus said at the meeting.

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The Washington Post was supposed to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris before Bezos canceled his plans. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

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Jennifer Rubin, who has been an outspoken critic of Bezos’ decision, raised the alarm about the “apparent conflict” the billionaire will have with his other businesses and their ties to a potential Trump presidency in the future , asking “If Trump wins, how will we ever know he’s not putting his thumb on the scale?”

“The country is about to elect someone who is running on a platform of revenge, fear and vengeance,” Rubin said.

“If the doubts are overwhelming, then you have to make the decision that feels pure and right and ethical,” Shipley replied to Rubin.

A spokesman for The Washington Post declined to comment.

Panic continues to rock The Post as “Democracy Dies in Darkness” has lost more than 250,000 subscribers since Friday as liberal readers remain outraged by its decision not to endorse Harris.