Vice President Kamala Harris and her A-list campaign surrogates hit the campaign trail last week. Barack Obama joined Bruce Springsteen in Philadelphia.

Michelle Obama joined Harris in Kalamazoo. In Houston, Harris rallied with Beyoncé. But the biggest story of the week may have been the endorsement Harris did not get. The Washington Post did not publish its planned editorial endorsing Harris.

According to the Post’s publisher and Chief Executive Officer William Lewis, the Post is “returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.”

These roots were uprooted in 1976 when the Post ended its traditional silence by endorsing Jimmy Carter. Back then, the need for moral leadership, reform in government and restoration of the public trust after Watergate overrode the previous “principles of independence but free of commitment to any party or candidate.”

Now, just 11 days before “the most consequential of American decisions,” Lewis wrote that abandoning 48 years of practice endorsing candidates and overruling his own editorial board is consistent with “character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law and respect for human freedom in all its aspects.”

This didn’t pass the laugh test. So Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos tried to clean up the mess. Bezos admitted that he killed the endorsement in order in order to increase public trust in the Post.

Still laughing.

In addition to owning a 9% stake in Amazon, Bezos founded Blue Origin Enterprises. Blue Origin is a rocket manufacturer and space launch provider.

Blue Origin does significant business with NASA and other U.S. government entities and contractors.

Amazon Web Services is a significant service provider to government agencies including the NSA, Department of Defense and Armed Services.

The obvious, if circumstantial conclusion, is that Bezos is afraid Donald Trump will be elected and wreak vengeance on Amazon and Blue Origin. This fear is not unfounded.

Amazon lost a $10 billion AWS award during the Trump administration supposedly due to Trump’s unhappiness with his treatment by the Post.

Bezos contends that his decision was based solely on journalistic principles, but left readers free to make their own determination.

Thousands of readers, including me, agree with Marty Baron, who ran the Post newsroom as executive editor from 2013 to 2021. Baron tweeted, “This is cowardice, with democracy as its casualty” and “disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.” Baron was echoed by 19 of the Post’s own opinion writers who signed a statement calling the decision “an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love.”

In one fell swoop, Bezos did more than any endorsement could do in damaging the Post’s credibility and integrity. He made a mockery of the Post’s motto “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

He betrayed a culture of fearlessness that co-published “The Pentagon Papers” and uncovered the Watergate scandal. If Trump is elected, who knows what future punches the Post will pull or stories it will kill?

Bezos still has time to summon his inner Harry Truman, publish the endorsement and “Give ‘em Hell.” Failing that, he should take another piece of Truman’s advice: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Jeffrey Scharf welcomes your comments. Contact him at jeffreyrscharf@gmail.com.