The Columbus Dispatch broke a 100-year tradition Sunday by endorsing a Democrat for president.
“For us, the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is not pleasant, but it isn’t difficult,” the Ohio newspaper’s editorial board wrote. “Republican candidate Donald Trump is unfit to be president of the United States. Democrat Hillary Clinton, despite her flaws, is well-equipped for the job.”
The board went on to say that Trump “does not espouse or support traditional Republican values, such as fiscal prudence, limited government and free trade, not to mention civility and decency.”
“We are disappointed that so many Republican leaders have accommodated a narcissistic, morally bankrupt candidate who is so clearly out of step with those values,” they added.
The board praised Clinton for her understanding of compromise, honed during her time as senator and secretary of state.
“She is well-known to foreign leaders and understands that world order depends upon a U.S. foreign policy that is committed to its international obligations,” the board wrote.
In weighing Clinton’s controversies, including “convenient memory lapses” and her use of a private email server while heading the State Department, the board reasoned “her negatives pale when measured against the dangers posed by Trump.”
“[Trump] has proved himself a liar of epic proportion,” the board wrote “He is a bigot, a braggart and an admirer of foreign thugs such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin. He is reckless and thin-skinned. He has demeaned Mexicans, demonized Muslims, insulted women and mocked the disabled.”
The board also knocked Trump’s proposed policies, saying his economic plan would double the debt and tariffs would spark a “trade war.”
“The stakes are too high to sit out this election and risk letting Trump misuse the awesome power of the presidency. The Dispatch urges voters to elect Hillary Clinton,” the board wrote.
The last time the Columbus Dispatch endorsed a Democrat for president was Woodrow Wilson in 1916.
