Orlando Sentinel Editor on ‘Not Trump’ Endorsement: We May Not Endorse Anyone Depending on Who Dem Candidate Is

Orlando Sentinel editor Mike Lafferty spoke on CNN today about the paper’s blistering editorial against President Donald Trump, but also noted that it’s not the same as automatically endorsing whoever runs against him.

The Sentinel editorial board announced their endorsement of “Not Donald Trump” today ahead of his big rally tonight, saying, “There’s no point pretending we would ever recommend that readers vote for Trump. 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.”

Jake Tapper asked Lafferty why they would write this non-endorsement this early in the 2020 cycle. Lafferty said given the president’s campaign relaunch in Orlando, “we thought this was as good a time as in to just go ahead and say what had been on our mind for a while, which is that we would not be able to endorse him for another term.”

Tapper brought up a new poll showing a majority of Florida voters saying they feel better off financially now than in 2016. “Might that not be enough for the voters of your state?” Tapper asked.

Lafferty said it very well could, acknowledging the economy is doing well but adding, “Of course some of that is a continuation of some positive economic news that had been already taking place in the Obama administration.”

“I don’t know how much it will mean to voters next year,” he said.

Lafferty did say the editorial board is conservative fiscally and they are “concerned that the financial business of the United States might not get enough attention from the Democratic nominee.”

He said the Sentinel didn’t endorse in 1980 and they might not endorse anyone, “depending on who the Democratic candidate is.”

You can watch above, via CNN.

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