‘Orlando Sentinel’ Releases 2020 Endorsement: Anyone But Trump

“Some readers will wonder how we could possibly eliminate a candidate so far before an election, and before knowing the identity of his opponent. Because there’s no point pretending we would ever recommend that readers vote for Trump,” the board continued. “After 2½ years we’ve seen enough. Enough of the chaos, the division, the schoolyard insults, the self-aggrandizement, the corruption, and especially the lies.” The article then went on to say that “Trump’s successful assault on truth is the great casualty of this presidency, followed closely by his war on decency.”

The paper then asserted that its refusal to back Trump was not a guarantor of support for the Democratic candidates. While the Sentinel endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016, it has a long history of supporting Republican candidates. In 2012 the paper backed Republican Mitt Romney against President Barack Obama, and said that if the Utah senator or another Republican challenger, such as former Ohio Governor John Kasich, were to run they would “eagerly give them a look.” Except for Lyndon B.Johnson, the Orlando publication “backed Republican presidential nominees from 1952 through 2004,” highlighting that their criticism of Trump was not just based on partisanism.

SLIDESHOW: TOP DEMOCRATS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020

Since Florida is the biggest of the swing states, with 29 electoral votes to its name, it is reliably one of the most important battlegrounds during presidential elections. While Trump won the state in 2016, it is unclear whether or not he will be able to win it again. What is clear is that with the president’s approval ratings falling in midwestern states like Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan, if he is to win the 2020 election, he will almost certainly have to win Florida as well.