The Trump campaign has lodged a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), alleging that the Washington Post is engaging in unfair practices by funding advertisements that highlight negative stories about former President Donald Trump.
Recently, the Post intensified its paid advertising efforts across social media platforms, particularly following backlash against owner Jeff Bezos for retracting an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. This ad campaign reportedly began earlier this week on platforms like Facebook, focusing on topics such as Trump’s misleading statements, controversial remarks about Haitian migrants in Ohio, and instances of supporters exiting his rallies prematurely.
In a letter addressed to the FEC, Gary Lawkowski, deputy counsel for the Trump campaign, argued that these actions constitute illegal corporate contributions to a political campaign. “We urge the Commission to investigate the expenditures made by The Washington Post immediately,” Lawkowski stated.
According to the Federal Elections Campaign Act, corporations are generally prohibited from making contributions or expenditures related to elections, and political entities are also barred from knowingly accepting such contributions.
Lawkowski highlighted that the content promoted by the Post aligns closely with issues emphasized by the Harris campaign. For instance, he noted that an article about attendees leaving Trump rallies early was notably circulated by Harris’ digital team.
This raises suspicions of coordinated communications, which may amount to illegal corporate contributions to Harris’s presidential campaign, Lawkowski claimed.
Interestingly, prior to this Monday, the Washington Post had only run a limited number of ads on Facebook throughout the month, primarily promoting the newspaper itself without mentioning Trump.
In a significant backlash against Bezos’ decision to forgo a presidential endorsement, over 250,000 readers—approximately 10% of the newspaper’s circulation—canceled their subscriptions.
Bezos, the founder of Amazon, explained in a guest essay that the decision stemmed from a principle-based stance, asserting that endorsements can create a perception of bias in journalism.
This unfolding situation raises questions about media influence in politics and the ongoing dynamics between corporate entities and political campaigns.
