Taint Praise: New York Post Endorses “Amateurish, Divisive” Donald Trump For President

In the nine months that Donald Trump has been a candidate for president he has managed to wrangle endorsements from only two “newspapers,” the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer (owned by his close friend) and the New York Daily Observer (owned by his son-in-law). Not exactly the sort of coveted endorsements about which a reputable candidate would brag. And now Trump has snagged his third endorsement from the New York Post, a sensationalist rag owned by Rupert Murdoch of Fox News fame. But their reasoning reads more like a repudiation than an endorsement.

Donald Trump New York Post

The Post’s article announcing the endorsement begins on a decidedly negative note that casts Trump as a hothead and an amateur with some vague “potential” that may never be realized:

“Donald Trump is a rookie candidate — a potential superstar of vast promise, but making rookie mistakes. The nominee Republicans need for the fall campaign is often hard to make out amid his improvisations and too-harsh replies to his critics.”

That’s not exactly an opening that would give voters confidence in the Post’s editorial judgment. If your first paragraph is more insult than acclaim there is a serious lack of conviction on hand. But the Post’s editors weren’t finished heaping their brand of “praise” on The Donald. They went on to say that…

“Should he win the nomination, we expect Trump to pivot — not just on the issues, but in his manner. The post-pivot Trump needs to be more presidential: better informed on policy, more self-disciplined and less thin-skinned.”

So in their attempt to shore up support for their preferred candidate, the Post maligns him as unpresidential (which even Trump has admitted), uninformed, and downright snotty (which a Fox News poll shows is the same thing most Americans think of him).

The Post continues by belittling Trump’s articulation of, and grasp of, the issues that face the nation. They specifically mention his foolish and dangerous proposals to pull U.S. troops out of Japan and South Korea and push both countries to go nuclear, which the Post says “is not remotely a good idea.” They also denounce his ludicrous plan to build a wall along the southern border as “far too simplistic.” And that’s his signature campaign issue.

However, Trump is pleased with the endorsement and thanked the Post on Twitter. You have to wonder if he can read – or bothers to. But, the worst part of this endorsement isn’t how badly it insults Trump, but how badly it insults voters. After characterizing Trump’s language as “too often been amateurish, divisive — and downright coarse,” the Post’s editors associate those derogatory traits with the population at large:

“But what else to expect from someone who’s never been a professional politician and reflects common-man passions?”

Really? The Post thinks that being amateurish, divisive, and coarse is a reflection of the common man? There may be some “common” folk in New York who would disagree with that. Although, to the extent that there is any truth in it, it would be as it relates to the common Trump supporter. It is also interesting to note that the Post editors believe the same derogatory things about anyone who is not a professional politician. So an insurance agent, or a waiter, or a nurse, or an auto mechanic, is just as amateurish, divisive, and coarse as Trump has shown himself to be, according the Post.

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You have to wonder if the Post is punking America by recommending that they vote for an ignorant vulgarian. The “endorsement” closes by noting that Trump is an “imperfect messenger” who reflects the best of “New York values” By which I guess they mean coarseness and ignorance. It’s just another swipe at the people whose votes the Post is attempting to influence. Those people, by the way, are mostly embarrassed by Trump. And when you take the entirety of this endorsement into account there is just one overarching question that comes to mind: With friends like these, who needs enemas?

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One thought on “Taint Praise: New York Post Endorses “Amateurish, Divisive” Donald Trump For President

  1. Seems fitting though. One garbage rag endorsing another garbage rag.

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