MANCHESTER, N.H. — The New Hampshire Union Leader, a longtime conservative-leaning newspaper based out of Manchester, announced their endorsement of Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden on Sunday. 


What You Need To Know

  • Conservative-leaning newspaper The New Hampshire Union Leader announced their endorsement of Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden on Sunday

  • It is the first time in over a century that the newspaper has endorsed a Democrat for president

  • Instead of supporting Trump, the paper endorsed Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson for president in 2016

  • The article said Biden is far from a perfect candidate, and says their policy differences with the candidate are "significant"

It is the first time the publication has supported a Democrat in over a century. 

While admitting that neither candidate is perfect, the publication stated that: “President Trump is not always 100 percent wrong, but he is 100 percent wrong for America.” 

The editorial went on to cite President Trump’s failure to reign in the country’s debt, his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, and his weaponization of social media as reasons why the incumbent president did not earn their endorsement for a second term in office. 

“There is no love lost between this newspaper and President Donald J. Trump,” the article read. “The Union Leader was very quickly dismissed by then-candidate Trump after we failed to bestow on him our endorsement in the Republican primary four years ago.” 

In 2016, the paper endorsed libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, breaking their 100-year tradition of backing Republican candidates.

“We were hopeful with Trump’s win that he might change, that the weight and responsibility of the Oval Office might mold a more respectful and presidential man,” Sunday’s article continued. “We have watched with the rest of the world as the mantle of the presidency has done very little to change Trump while the country and world have changed significantly.” 

Still, the publication did not hold back on their condemnation of Trump’s 2020 opponent, saying their policy disagreements with Biden are “significant.” The paper disagrees with the former vice president’s stance on climate change, and say they are dissatisfied with his answers about his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business relations. 

Nonetheless, the authors appreciated that Biden was “among the most moderate in the crowded 2020 Democratic primary field.”

“Building this country up sits squarely within the skill set of Joseph Biden. We have found Mr. Biden to be a caring, compassionate and professional public servant,” the article read. “He has repeatedly expressed his desire to be a president for all of America, and we take him at his word.” 

“Joe Biden may not be the president we want, but in 2020 he is the president we desperately need,” the authors concluded. 

The article came with a large caveat, with the authors saying it would be a “disservice to the country” to send Biden to the White House without a balance of power in the federal government. 

“We suggest splitting the ballot and electing a healthy dose of GOP senators and representatives,” the article read, adding, “the civility of the Biden administration will help foster such compromise, but a blue wave would be nearly as disastrous for this country as four more years of Trump.” 

The publication’s endorsement came on the same day that President Trump made a campaign stop in the Granite State, where he repeated the claim that the country is “rounding the corner" on the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the United States again setting daily records on new COVID cases, Trump told supporters in Londonderry, New Hampshire, that the rising rate of infections was nothing to be concerned about.

Trump asked a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd: ”You know why we have cases so much?”

“Because all we do is test," he responded.

With Election Day just over a week away, average deaths per day across the country are up 10% over the past two weeks, from 721 to nearly 794 as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Confirmed infections per day are rising in 47 states, and deaths are up in 34.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.