Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos came under fire for bias, Tuesday, but for his other company. At an Amazon shareholder meeting, he was pressed on that organization’s political stances. Bezos defended, “It’s very important that Amazon, in my opinion, not oppose or favor any presidential candidate or elected official, that’s not our job. Instead, The right thing for us is to take a very measured issue-by-issue approach.”
Justin Danhof of the conservative National Center for Public Policy Research confronted Bezos at the shareholder meeting. He pointed out: “Mr. Bezos, the animosity between you and President Trump is well-documented.” After explaining that Amazon opposed Donald Trump’s travel ban, Danhof quizzed, “First of all, Mr. Bezos, do you see any potential downside for Amazon related to the company’s opposition to the President, or from The Washington Post’s anti-Trump bias?”
Bezos’s Washington Post certainly has a problem in that regard. Executive editor Marty Baron appeared on CBS This Morning, Tuesday and basically convicted the President. He said that the Russia investigation “feels like” Watergate.
Bezos, unsurprisingly, defended Amazon’s stance on the travel ban. GeekWire quoted Bezos's defense at the shareholder meeting:
When we take a stance on a particular issue it should be because it has an impact on the company or our employees... That’s what led us to take a position on the immigration issue. We have a large number of employees affected by that issue. It really is that simple.
By that logic, Amazon could offer public opinions on taxes and guns. Yet, Bezos opted to speak out on one that's trendy and liberal.
