It is a mathematical fact that Donald Trump cannot reach 270 electoral votes without the 29 from Florida. There is no path to victory for him without carrying the Sunshine State. So it is especially bad news that every major newspaper is hammering his candidacy while endorsing Hillary Clinton.
Four years ago the Orlando Sentinel, right in the heart of Florida where the Sunshine State will be won or lost, endorsed Mitt Romney against incumbent president Barack Obama. But this time around the editorial board said Clinton is “well qualified” to be president while Trump “is not.”
“Trump’s notorious comments on a leaked 2005 recording demeaning women and boasting about groping them threw his campaign into crisis this month,” read the editorial. “But they’re just the latest example in a stream of unhinged, unpresidential statements to emerge since he launched his campaign by branding Mexican immigrants rapists and drug dealers. For five years, Trump personally promoted the bigoted lie that the nation’s first black president wasn’t born in America. His vow if elected to investigate and possibly jail Clinton, along with his threats to purge military leaders and go after the press by changing libel laws, come straight out of the playbook of foreign dictators, not U.S. presidents. His lack of self-control when challenged is alarming in a leader who would take charge of America’s nuclear arsenal.”
The editorial concluded that Clinton “has a record of accomplishment” while Trump “showed little interest” in public service.
To the south the Miami Herald also endorsed Clinton, saying Trump is “the ringmaster of a circus.”
“The narrative that Hillary Clinton is the lesser of two evils is patently wrong,” reads the editorial. “Ms. Clinton is a pragmatic, tough-minded woman of accomplishment and political conviction with a demonstrated mastery of policy. She is politically flawed. However, Donald Trump is a damaged human being.”
The paper said Clinton has fought “for the right causes” during her time as a senator from New York and as the Secretary of State. As for Trump, the words are not so kind.
“The billionaire Republican candidate is a boastful, self-centered egomaniac who lacks a record of public service or familiarity with the issues,” said the editorial. “Indeed, he clearly seems to lack any political convictions whatsoever, except those of convenience,” reads the editorial. “He’s the star of this political reality show of his own making, a sick parody of a real political contest. He’s the ringmaster of a circus that attempts to conceal his lack of gravity by relying on the entertainment value of insults, exaggerations, lies and promises completely devoid of credibility and substance, characterized by his pie-in-the-sky vow to ‘make America great again.'”
The South Florida Sun Sentinel also endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012, but the endorsement this year went for Clinton in every category listed:
- Economy, Clinton
- National Security, Clinton
- Immigration, Clinton
- Supreme Court, Clinton
- Race Relations, Clinton
- Women and Children, Clinton
“Here is a crucial contrast with her opponent: Hillary recognizes mistakes,” said the editorial. “She apologized for both of those. In this complex world, even good presidents are going to make mistakes – Obama has made them, Reagan made them, Kennedy made them, FDR made them. Hillary’s experience already makes her less likely to make mistakes. Her temperament makes her more likely to learn from mistakes – certainly more likely than someone who, even in the face of clear evidence, will not admit that he has made mistakes.”
The editorial concludes that “Trump is not qualified” while “Hillary is fully qualified to serve as president of the United States.”
The Sun Sentinel wrote an entire separate editorial on why not to support Trump.
“A lot of people also find Trump appealing because they see him as some great businessman,” said the editorial. “But there’s the myth of Trump and the reality of Trump. And his spotty record — think Trump University, Trump Tower Tampa and the Trump casino in Atlantic City, to name a few — shows Trump looks out for Trump, not the little guy.”
The Tampa Bay Times, a winner of 12 Pulitzer prizes, also endorsed Clinton calling Trump a “dangerous demagogue.”
“Hillary Clinton is the only candidate for president with the values, experience and knowledge to meet the challenges at home and abroad,” said the paper. “Donald Trump is stunningly unprepared and temperamentally unfit for the presidency, and he has played upon our deepest fears and worst impulses with reckless rhetoric, wild promises and flagrant disregard for the truth. His bombast makes for entertaining television, but it is not suited for the Oval Office.”
So far Clinton has won the endorsements of major papers across the country including the New York Times, Washington Post and LA Times. But it is the number of conservative editorial boards endorsing her that has captured everyone’s attention.
The Salt Lake Tribune endorsed Clinton saying she was “fit and tough” while Trump is running “on a promise to fix things by basically being a dictator.”
In Alabama, the Birmingham News, the bastion of conservatism in the deep south, endorsed Clinton calling Trump “a narcissistic, childish bully.”
A Wall Street Journal editorial endorsed Clinton predicting Trump would be “the most unstable, proudly uninformed, psychologically unfit president ever to enter the White House.”
The top circulated paper in the country, USA Today, has never taken a side in a presidential race, but has called Trump “erratic, ill-equipped, prejudiced, reckless and a serial liar.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune endorsed its first Democrat ever, calling Trump “vengeful, dishonest and impulsive” while Clinton has “the experience, background and relationships with world leaders that we need in a president.”
The Arizona Republic had never endorsed a Democrat in its 126 year history but they endorsed Clinton saying, “Clinton has the temperament and experience to be president, Donald Trump does not.”
The Cincinnati Enquirer had not endorsed a Democrat in 100 years, but endorsed Clinton, slamming Trump as a “clear and present danger” to the country.
In Texas, the Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle both endorsed the Democrat for the first time in decades. The Morning News blasted Trump, saying his “values are hostile to conservatism. He plays on fear, exploiting base instincts of xenophobia, racism and misogyny, to bring out the worst in all of us, rather than the best.” The Chronicle wasn’t any nicer, saying Trump “is a danger to the Republic.”