The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s editorial board has endorsed President Donald Trump for re-election, the first time the paper has endorsed a Republican presidential candidate since Richard Nixon in 1972. The endorsement shouldn’t come as a surprise, however, as the editorial direction of the paper has shifted to the right in recent years.
“We share the embarrassment of millions of Americans who are disturbed by the president’s unpresidential manners and character — his rudeness and put-downs and bragging and bending of the truth,” the editorial board wrote. “None of this can be justified. The president’s behavior often has diminished his presidency, and the presidency. Most Americans want a president who makes them proud.”
The editorial board said Trump’s record, however, was what they were endorsing:
Under Donald Trump the economy, pre-COVID, boomed, like no time since the 1950s. Look at your 401(k) over the past three years.
Unemployment for Black Americans is lower than it has ever been, under any president of either party.
Under Mr. Trump, our trade relationships have vastly improved and our trade deals have been rewritten. Thanks to him, middle America is on the map again and the Appalachian and hourly worker has some hope.
Voting for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), the editorial board wrote, would mean “higher taxes and a nanny state that will bow to the bullies and the woke who would tear down history rather than learning from history and building up the country.”
“It offers an end to fracking and other Cuckoo California dreams that will cost the economy and the people who most need work right now. ‘Good-paying green jobs’ are probably not jobs for Pittsburgh, or Cleveland, or Toledo, or Youngstown,” the board added.
Though the fact that the paper hasn’t endorsed a Republican presidential candidate since 1972 is newsworthy, it should be noted that this is not the same paper it was in 1972, or even in 2016, when it provided no presidential endorsement. In 2018, the Post-Gazette consolidated its editorial department with The Toledo Blade, a paper in Toledo, Ohio. Both papers are owned by John Robinson Block, who along Keith Burris, editorial director for the Blade and the Post-Gazette, are personal fans of Trump.
The Blade ran the exact same editorial board endorsement of Trump as the Post-Gazette.
“This newspaper has not supported a Republican for president since 1972. But we believe Mr. Trump, for all his faults, is the better choice this year. We respect and understand those who feel otherwise. We wish that we could be more enthusiastic and we hope the president can become more dignified and statesmanlike. Each American must make up his or her own mind and do what he or she thinks is best for the community and the republic. Vote your conscience. And, whatever happens, believe in the country,” the editorials concluded.
While some may see the endorsement as a reflection of the paper at large, it is important to note that many in the Post-Gazette newsroom may not agree with the editorial board’s endorsement. The endorsement reflects the opinions of the editorial board, not of the entire newsroom.