LA Times Owner Speaks Out On Killing Paper’s Kamala Harris Endorsement: ‘If You Want to Lead’

Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP Images

Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong acknowledged in a new interview that he knew he’d get “pushback” for killing his paper’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race.

“I worried [the endorsement] would actually express that she was maybe the most consequential vice president in the history of the United States, which may be the opinion of some people and may be laughed at by other people,” Soon-Shiong told Fox News Digital.

2024 was the first year the Los Angeles Times did not endorse a candidate since 2008.

“I thought, ‘Look, we can’t do that.’ We have to actually provide what we call factual basis for anything we’re going to actually endorse,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we don’t endorse, but that’s not the basis of how we would endorse.”

He went on to say the California wildfires show how much “competence” matters in leadership.

“I knew I’d get pushback. If you want to lead, you have to lead, so we took that position,” he said.

Soon-Shiong, a biotech billionaire, bought the Los Angeles Times in 2018 and his veto of the Harris endorsement led to subscriptions being cancelled and even resignations among staff.

“Competence matters,” he said. “And, you know, did we feel as a group that she was a competent leader?”

Following the non-endorsement, Soon-Shiong said the paper’s editorial board chose not to endorse a candidate after being asked to weigh the policies of each candidate.

“The Board was asked to provide their understanding of the policies and plans enunciated by the candidates during this campaign and its potential effect on the nation in the next four years,” he said. “In this way, with this clear and non-partisan information side-by-side, our readers could decide who would be worthy of being President for the next four years.”