On Vengeance, Democracy, and Billionaire Obedience School

Updates on Trump, the LA Times, and the Washington Post.

On Saturday I wrote about the billionaire owners of the  Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post who blocked their newspapers from endorsing either major-party candidate for president this year. I called that a victory for Trump and a further breakdown in the democratic process—one that should concern people of all political views.

There have been some updates on that story in the past 48 hours: more evidence of billionaires giving in to bullying and threats, a quickly-debunked explanation for the LA Times’ action, and a new poll that confirms Americans are losing faith in democracy.

Billionaire Obedience School

“Trump,” I wrote on Saturday, “has been open about his pursuit of vengeance and equally clear that he’ll reward his friends with government contracts.” This approach has succeeded in bringing large segments of the rich and powerful to heel—and they’re forcing their employees to go along.

There was further evidence of this in today’s Washington Post (Monday, October 28), in an article headlined “Some billionaires, CEOs hedge bets as Trump vows retribution.” The subheading reads, “With the race tight, some business elites are toning down past criticism of the former president.” Among the billionaires the article calls out is Jeff Bezos, the Post’s own censorious owner.

From the article:

“... as polls have tightened, numerous billionaires and other leading executives have taken steps in recent months to stay out of the race — even if they had criticized Trump after the Capitol insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, calling his encouragement of the riot a threat to American democracy. Others who previously backed Democrats have stayed silent ...”

I don’t take my political cues from these people and I don’t think many other voters do, either. This is, however, an edifying example of both their moral cowardice and their unprincipled greed.

As for being “open about the pursuit of vengeance”—well, yeah. The Post cites Trump advisors who gloat that “numerous executives have been trying to reach out to the former president’s team late in the race.”

Here's a quote from one of those advisors:

“I’ve told CEOs to engage as fast as possible because the clock is ticking … . If you’re somebody who has endorsed Harris, and we’ve never heard from you at any point until after the election, you’ve got an uphill battle.”

The Post also notes that “Trump allies hailed what they say are signs of neutrality from other billionaires,” citing Bezos’ interference in the Washington Post’s endorsement process as an example.

“Signs of neutrality” is putting it mildly. We now know that executives from Bezos’ space company—which, like other such companies, needs government contracts—met with Trump on the same day Bezos vetoed the paper’s endorsement of Harris.

That’s corruption.

Family Feud

The daughter of Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the Los Angeles Times, claimed that her father’s paper reversed its decision to endorse a presidential candidate because both candidates support genocide in Gaza. Nika Soon-Shiong said the non-endorsement “was an opportunity to repudiate justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and ongoing war on children.”

That would have been an honorable reason to withhold an endorsement—if it had been true. American journalists, editors, and publishers have been shamefully silent about Israel’s ongoing, deliberate, and targeted slaughter of their Palestinian colleagues. They preach about the freedom of the press, but there’s no freedom for the dead.

But that wasn’t the case here. Nika’s billionaire father quickly set the record straight. “Nika speaks in her own personal capacity regarding her opinion,” he said, as every community member has the right to do.”

That last phrase: ouch. He continued, “She does not have any role at The L.A. Times, nor does she participate in any decision or discussion with the editorial board, as has been made clear many times.”

“Many times”? That’s one exasperated dad. Thanksgiving dinner will be awkward this year.

The paper’s editorial page editor, who resigned in protest, never bought it. “If the family’s goal was to ‘repudiate justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and ongoing war on children,’” said Mariel Garza, “remaining silent did not accomplish that.”

Exactly. Many religions suggest that good deeds earn the most merit when nobody knows who performed them. The Buddhists call it “secret virtue.” But there’s no virtue in secret expressions of solidarity and support. They help no one and cost nothing—as opposed to the courage it would have taken to repudiate the killings in Gaza.

But we can forget about “secret virtue.” For Patrick Soon-Shiong, it turns out there was no virtue at all. As the New York Times reports,

“Several senior editors ... noted that (Soon-Shiong) had often been critical of the Biden administration, had boasted of having dinner with Mr. Trump after he won the presidency in 2016 and often has approvals pending with the federal Food and Drug Administration. They speculated that he may have been hedging his bets over a range of issues.” (Emphasis mine.)

“Hedging his bets,” in this case, means censoring his editorial staff to ensure good relations with whichever candidate wins. That’s corruption, too.

American Democracy: Damaged, Endangered, and Corrupt

Lastly, I argued that voters across the political spectrum understand that American democracy is broken. I cited a July 2024 Pew Research survey which found that an overwhelming 72 percent of Americans don’t believe the United States is a good example of democracy. I wrote, “This is why Democratic rhetoric about ‘saving democracy’ has been so unpersuasive … working people know that what the billionaires want, they get.”

A New York Times/Siena College poll reinforcing Pew’s findings was released the day after that column was published(Sunday, October 27). It found that nearly half of all voters believe American democracy “does not do a good job representing the people” and that “three-quarters say it is under threat.”

The poll also found that “a majority of voters believe that the country is plagued by corruption, with 62 percent saying that the government is mostly working to benefit itself and elites rather than the common good.”

That belief doesn’t just undermine the political process (although it certainly does that). It also undermines trust in government itself, weakening the institutional bonds that help hold our society together.

That’s what makes this belief so dangerous. I only wish it was wrong.