Sixteen U.S. newspapers have so far endorsed Hilary Clinton for the U.S. presidency, and no newspaper has endorsed Donald Trump. Most of these newspapers are in large U.S. cities. Most significant is that some of them have very politically conservative editorial boards that have rarely, if ever, endorsed a Democratic candidate for president, some for over 100 years. They include the Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Cincinnati Enquirer, and Arizona Republic. (I’ve lived in three of these cities and read these newspapers a lot.) And even though an overwhelming number of political analysts and debate experts say Clinton clearly won the first of three scheduled debates last Monday, the latest polls show that the two candidates are still about tied. Plus, Trump has been gaining momentum in recent weeks.
Thursday, USA TODAY–the only truly national newspaper, and a very good one that I read everyday–strongly warned voters against voting for Trump as our president. Its editorial board was divided on whether or not to endorse Clinton. Here are statements by some of the sixteen newspapers that warn about Donald Trump as president (and Trump so far has not had one newspaper endorsement):
“danger to the Republic … erratic temperment … demogoguery, contempt for the rule of law, his ignorance”–Houston Chronicle
“Unprincipled, unstable and quite possibly dangerous”–Detroit News
“Vengeful, dishonest and impulsive”–The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“The worst nominee put forward by a major party in modern American history”–New York Times
“Reprehensible”–Canton Repository
“Utterly corrupted by self-interest…. clear and present danger to our country”–Cincinnati Enquirer
“Not conservative and he is not qualified”–Arizona Republic.
“unfit for the presidency … lacks the temperment, knowledge, steadiness and honesty … ill-equipped to be commander in chief … a serial liar”–USA Today
These are sobering accusations. Newspaper editorialists are very knowledgeable people about our country, and they don’t make such strong statements without considerable thought and reasoning. I think it is a detriment to our country that newspaper subscriptions have been in serious decline the past several years, largely due to the Internet. I think a considerable portion of Trump’s supporters do not read newspapers and thereby deny themselves being exposed to the wisdom of our newspaper editors. Another reason is that newspapers have had to raise their prices. But getting news free from the Internet or television is getting more and more polarized.
Donald Trump has been trashing newspapers throughout the entire fifteen months of his political campaign. A lot of people are buying it and a lot more similar rubbish he is putting out. He does so since he is a narcissist who cannot take the slightest criticism.
Folks, being a professional golfer on the PGA Tour and its Champions Tour for thirty years full-time, I’ve had much experience with newspaper reporters. It has caused me to greatly respect people in the newspaper business and has further affirmed my belief in our First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of the press and speech. As I stated in a recent post, I don’t believe Donald Trump really supports this basic principle of our Republic. Yet, if he wins this election and enters the White House, he will have to swear to uphold our it. Newspapers are the lifeblood of our freedom of speech, and several of those quoted above and others rightly claim Donald Trump is a big liar. So, if he wins, I don’t think we should trust him in vowing to defend our precious liberties such as freedom of speech and the press. (See my related post yesterday, “If Trump Wins, Congress May Tell Him, ‘You’re Fired!'”)
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