As Donald Trump heads to Florida to officially kick off his 2020 re-election campaign, a prominent local newspaper has announced its endorsement for the presidency — sort of.
Just before the president was expected to land in the Sunshine State, the Orlando Sentinel editorial board published a piece titled: “Our Orlando Sentinel endorsement for president in 2020: Not Donald 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,” the paper wrote. “After 2½ years we’ve seen enough.”
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
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The editorial board endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, but has supported both Republicans and Democrats for the White House in past elections. However, the paper wrote on Tuesday morning: “There’s no point pretending we would ever recommend that readers vote for Trump.
“Enough of the chaos, the division, the schoolyard insults, the self-aggrandizement, the corruption, and especially the lies,” the paper continues, going on to mention several examples of the president’s most flagrant falsehoods.
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15/22 Julian Castro
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16/22 Marianne Williamson
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18/22 Seth Moulton
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20/22 Jay Inslee
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21/22 John Hickenlooper
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22/22 Tim Ryan
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The Vermont senator has announced that he will be running again in 2020 after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He intends to run on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform
Getty
2/22 Joe Biden
The former vice president – poised to be a frontrunner – has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well
EPA
3/22 Elizabeth Warren
The Mbadachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street.
Reuters
4/22 Bill De Blasio
The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but has struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor
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5/22 Pete Buttigieg
The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history
Getty
6/22 Beto O’Rourke
The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He intends to run on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by “gross differences in opportunity and outcome”
AP
7/22 Steve Bullock
The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated “We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people’s voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone.” He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor’s seat in a red [Republican] state
Reuters
8/22 Cory Booker
The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority
Getty
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Vice News
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The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege”
Getty
11/22 Kamala Harris
The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle clbad
AFP/Getty
12/22 John Delaney
The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017
AP
13/22 Tulsi Gabbard
The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Getty
14/22 Andrew Yang
The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18
Getty
15/22 Julian Castro
The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US
Getty
16/22 Marianne Williamson
The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful
Getty
17/22 Eric Swalwell
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Getty
18/22 Seth Moulton
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19/22 Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings
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Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid centres around climate change
AFP/Getty
21/22 John Hickenlooper
The former governor of Colorado is running on a sensible ticket. He aims to sell himself as an effective leader who is open to compromise and evidences this with his experience as governor
Getty
22/22 Tim Ryan
Ohio representative Tim Ryan will be running a campaign that hinges on his working clbad roots
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Mr Trump was expected to launch his campaign just hours after the story was published on Tuesday with a major rally in Orlando.
The state was one of several he narrowly won in 2016 that helped pave a path to victory. A slate of Democrats vying for the White House have since targeted Florida as a battleground to be flipped in 2020.
“The nation must endure another 1½ years of Trump. But it needn’t suffer another four beyond that,” the board concluded. “We can do better. We have to do better.”
While recent polls — and the president’s own internal polling — have all shown him facing an uphill battle against any of the major Democratic candidates, head-to-head polls show former Vice President Joe Biden defeating Mr Trump in many of the key states.
Mr Trump has claimed those polls “don’t exist”, instead suggesting he can still win states like Florida and Texas.
The president reportedly views Florida as a crucial state for his re-election, which led to his decision to launch the 2020 campaign in Orlando.
“The Fake News doesn’t report it, but Republican enthusiasm is at an all time high. Look what is going on in Orlando, Florida, right now!” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. “People have never seen anything like it (unless you play a guitar). Going to be wild – See you later!”