Washington Post opinion page is going MAGA—and Trump team is cheering

Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos announced on Wednesday that the paper’s opinion section would no longer publish contributions that run contrary to principles traditionally aligned with the conservative movement, the Republican Party, and President Donald Trump.

Bezos announced the decision in a social media post that was also sent to staffers at the Post.

“We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others,” he wrote.

Bezos said it was no longer the job of the paper “to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views,” and that “the internet does that job.”

Bezos also revealed that the section’s editor, David Shipley, had left the paper out of disagreement with the rightward shift of the opinion section.

Historically, the Post has published opinions from both the left and the right, though the editorial voice of the paper often was aligned with the conservative viewpoint, including the paper’s advocacy for the U.S. invading Iraq in 2003.

The new editorial policy was praised by the Trump administration. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, posted an animated GIF of the Grinch smiling in response to Bezos’ post.

The White House has in recent days acted to obstruct media coverage of the administration. The Associated Press and HuffPost have both been barred from reporting on White House events, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the Trump team would choose which outlets—leaning to the right—are allowed to cover the White House. Traditionally, that has been the decision of the independent White House Correspondents’ Association.

The Post shift is another instance of Bezos currying favor with Trump and the right. The outlet lost contributors Jennifer Rubin and Ann Telnaes after it declined to publish a cartoon from Telnaes critical of Bezos and spiked an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. Subscriptions have also reportedly declined following the Post’s pro-Trump actions.

Bezos, who became a multibillionaire leading Amazon, donated to Trump’s inauguration committee and received a prominent seat near the front for the inauguration event.

Another financial tie between Bezos and Trump was revealed after Amazon announced in January that it had paid off Melania Trump for rights to a documentary about her life.

The Washington Post’s decision to fall in lockstep with Trump echoes other media outlets taking action to win favor with the right. MSNBC recently purged several prominent voices that have criticized Trump, and ABC News gave him millions for a settlement. Even The New York Times was recently caught peddling Republican propaganda.

Conservatives have long promoted the falsehood that the media is “liberal,” but with these new moves, the evidence shows that the myth is completely dead.

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