Orlando Paper Makes Unusual Move Before Trump Speech

'Sentinel' runs early 2020 endorsement: 'Not Donald Trump'
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 18, 2019 12:23 PM CDT
Orlando Paper Makes Unusual Move Before Trump Speech
Supporters of President Trump wait in line hours before the arena doors open for a campaign rally Tuesday, June 18, 2019, in Orlando, Fla.   (AP Photo/John Raoux)

President Trump formally kicks off his 2020 run with a campaign rally Tuesday night in Orlando, Florida. If he's looking for a new target to criticize, the local Orlando Sentinel just presented itself. "We're here to announce our endorsement for president in 2020, or, at least, who we're not endorsing: Donald Trump," declares an editorial ahead of the rally. "Some readers will wonder how we could possibly eliminate a candidate so far before an election, and before knowing the identity of his opponent," it adds. But the editors say eliminating Trump from the mix was actually easy: "After 2½ years we've seen enough." Trump, says the editorial, routinely tells lies big and small and has tarnished the standing of the US in the world.

The non-endorsement doesn't mean the paper will automatically endorse the Democratic nominee. In fact, the newspaper has typically favored GOP candidates over the years (though it backed Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016), and the editors say they would happily consider another Republican should one enter the fray. "The nation must endure another 1½ years of Trump," they write. "But it needn’t suffer another four beyond that." Trump will be happier with a Sentinel news story pointing out that his supporters have been lining up well in advance of the president's speech. Except for this part: The story estimated that 250 people were in line by 9:30pm Monday, not the "thousands" claimed by Trump in a tweet. (More President Trump stories.)

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