US Paper Facing Threats For Endorsing Hillary Clinton

Los Angeles: A conservative Arizona newspaper is facing death threats and losing subscriptions after it broke with tradition and endorsed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump for US president, a senior editor told AFP Thursday.

The Phoenix-based Arizona Republic, the state's largest newspaper, announced in an editorial on Tuesday that it was backing a Democrat for the first time since it was founded in 1890, on the grounds that Trump was neither conservative nor qualified to be president.

The paper's editorial board said that while Clinton was by no means without flaws, she was by far the "superior choice."

Shortly after the paper published its endorsement the backlash began, with outraged readers sending a deluge of angry emails and canceling subscriptions, said Phil Boas, who runs the paper's editorial page.

"We got a lot of angry callers and we've had quite a few cancellations," Boas told AFP, adding that the paper had expected a blowback and did not regret its decision.

"We feel very good about what we did and know that it's the responsible decision and choice to endorse Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump."

The editorial page director said the paper had also received some threatening phone calls and a death threat but did not elaborate.

'Authoritarian And Dangerous'

Boas added that he did not believe regular readers of the opinion pages were surprised by the endorsement, given the numerous scathing editorials published about Trump.

"About a year ago we began writing very strong editorials about Trump because of his behavior on the stump, which to us seemed authoritarian," Boas said. "We started raising the alarm about him ... cautioning that what this man is saying is dangerous."

The Arizona Republic joins a growing list of conservative-leaning US newspapers to back the Democratic candidate during this year's divisive presidential campaign. A handful of other right-leaning publications have opted to back Libertarian Gary Johnson.

The Cincinnati Enquirer, an Ohio paper that has supported Republicans for almost a century, said last week that it was backing Clinton as "Trump is a clear and present danger to our country."

The Dallas Morning News -- based in the Republican-dominated state of Texas -- also broke a 75-year streak earlier this month by backing Clinton, describing her as the "only serious candidate."
Both papers have also faced backlash over their decision, with readers canceling subscriptions.

Boas, who described himself as a lifelong Republican, said his paper's decision to back a Democrat for the presidency was a no-brainer given Trump's policy proposals and often offensive conduct.

"We would be shocked and horrified if our own kids, our own teenagers, behaved like him," he said, adding that he understood the mindset of Republicans but felt like "a lot of them are in denial."

"I think a lot of them know that this guy violates their values," Boas said. "They are making compromises as they so dislike Hillary Clinton ... and it's time for Republicans and conservatives to wake up."

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)