The New Hampshire Union Leader is breaking tradition, endorsing Libertarian Gary Johnson over Donald Trump, the first time in more than 100 years the paper, the most influential in the state, is not backing a Republican for president.
The editorial, by publisher Joseph McQuaid, says that while voters "leaning toward Trump are understandably fed up with the status quo, of which [Hillary] Clinton is a prime example," they are kidding themselves "if they think Trump isn't pretty much a part of that status quo as well, or that he is in any way qualified to competently lead this nation." It goes on to call Trump a "liar, a bully, [and] a buffoon" who has "dishonored military veterans and their families, made fun of the physically frail, and changed political views almost as often as he has changed wives." McQuaid didn't spare Clinton either, calling her a "selfish, self-centered, sanctimonious prig."
The records of Johnson and his running mate, Bill Weld, both former Republican governors, "speak well of them," McQuaid concludes, and "in today's dark times, they are a bright light of hope and reason."
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