NH’s Largest Newspaper Endorses Libertarian Presidential Candidate

MANCHESTER, NH — William Loeb, the staunch conservative who used his newspaper as a bully pulpit to promote conservative causes and ridicule politicians, is turning over in his grave.

In tomorrow’s print edition – which is online now – New Hampshire Union Leader publisher Joseph W. McQuaid urges voters in New Hampshire to cast ballots for the Libertarian Party presidential candidate, Gary Johnson, and his running mate, Bill Weld, according to a post online.

In the editorial, McQuaid – who has had a well-publicized feud with billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump for more than a year – lambasts the Republican nominee saying that while people are fed up with the status quo, they shouldn’t kid themselves.

“The man is a liar, a bully, a buffoon,” McQuaid wrote. “He denigrates any individual or group that displeases him. He 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. Americans are being told that we have to choose the lesser of two evils. No, we don’t.”

In praising both former governors, McQuaid said that electing a third party candidate might be just the ticket to “snapping a squabbling Congress out of its partisanship,” adding that it would allow leaders in Congress to be “freer to debate issues apart from tribal loyalties.” He added that if Johnson were to win, he would be the first president in modern history to limit the scope to both the federal government and his own presidential power.

It is unknown, exactly, when the fallout between Trump and McQuaid occurred. Not that long ago, they were pals.

In 2014, at McQuaid's request, Trump was the keynote speaker at the Nackey Loeb School First Amendment awards in November 2014 that was awarded to the parents of New Hampshire journalist James Foley, who was butchered by ISIS terrorists. The Republican nominee even made a $25,000 donation to Foley’s foundation.

But the relationship appears to have disintegrated last summer when Fox News scheduled its first Republican presidential debate in Cleveland, OH, not New Hampshire. Shocked, McQuaid, with the help of C-Span and other organizations, put together its own forum – the Voters First Republican Presidential Forum – the same evening in an effort to allow all of the 20-plus candidates running for president to participate. When Trump and others balked at missing the limelight of Fox News, the event was moved to Aug. 3. However, Trump still refused to attend but 14 candidates did attend.

According to rumors circulated by some of the state's politerati, Trump wanted to be endorsed by the newspaper before attending its event, but that's not been confirmed.

The feud escalated with McQuaid writing editorials criticizing the candidate – as well as other things, as McQuaid told the Washington Post earlier this year – while at rallies, Trump railed against the newspaper, to cheers from attendees. The newspaper endorsed NJ Gov. Chris Christie which led ABC News to drop the Union Leader as a sponsor of its debate after Trump hinted he would refuse to attend.

No matter what many conservatives think of him, Trump has taken the mantle of modern conservative populism from “Pitchfork” Pat Buchanan, who was endorsed twice by the Union Leader, while McQuaid was leading the newspaper. If Loeb were alive today, he probably wouldn’t be happy with Trump's behavior toward the newspaper – but it’s doubtful that he would endorse a presidential candidate that is advocating drug legalization and openly admits to not smoking marijuana recently.

McQuaid’s criticisms of Trump being a bully also romanticizes – or completely forgets – the Loeb legacy of targeting and ridiculing politicians on the front page of the newspaper, as noted on this UPI obituary of the publisher.

Response to the editorial has ranged from praise to disgust with some commenters cheering the newspaper for taking a bold stand and others believing that promoting Johnson will ensure a Hillary Clinton victory in November.

Trump, however, has remained silent – so far – on the endorsement.