The editorial goes on to call Trump, who is campaigning in the Granite State Thursday, a “liar, a bully and a buffoon” who “denigrates any individual or group that displeased him”.
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Trump, on the other hand, is “a liar, a bully, a buffoon”, who has “changed political views nearly as often as he has changed wives”.
“The Union Leader and Sunday News endorse them”, it said, marking the first time in more than 100 years the paper has not endorsed the Republican nominee, according to The New York Times.
In Wednesday’s editorial, McQuaid cautioned Trump supporters against thinking their candidate is “in any way qualified to competently lead this nation”. Johnson has previously been endorsed by the Winston-Salem Journal and the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
“They would be worth considering under many circumstances”.
In an editorial, the publisher of the staunchly conservative outlet, Joseph McQuaid, who endorsed N.J. Gov. Chris Christie in the state’s presidential primary a year ago, writes voters are “fed up with the status quo, of which [Hillary] Clinton is a prime example”.
The endorsement comes just days after Johnson’s foreign policy gaffe when he seemed unfamiliar with Aleppo, Syria, the epicenter of the refugee crisis plaguing the Middle East. Johnson later expressed regret and frustration with himself over the mistake. He described the Libertarian ticket as “a bright light of hope and reason”.
While only a handful of major newspapers have made their endorsements for the general election, Trump has yet to elicit a single one, including from papers that have backed Republicans. Enjoying the support of The Union Leader, with its recurring front-page editorials reaffirming its choice, could give Johnson a lift in the Libertarian-leaning state, draining votes from Trump (and potentially from Clinton).
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While newspaper endorsements don’t sway current voters as much as they did in previous generations, the conservative publication’s decision to reject Trump is still considered a significant move.
