The Chicago Tribune, President Obama’s hometown newspaper, has endorsed Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson for president.
The endorsement from the paper that twice backed Obama for president can also be read as a snub of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who was born and raised in Illinois.
{mosads}The Tribune editorial expressed disdain for both Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
“This is the moment to see this election as not so much about them as about the American people and where their country is heading,” the editorial states. “And this is the moment to rebuke the Republican and Democratic parties.”
Clinton’s “intent to greatly increase federal spending and taxation, and serious questions about honesty and trust,” disqualify her, the editorial said.
It declared Trump “not fit” to be president, while also writing, “the mystery and shame of Trump’s rise — we have red, white and blue coffee mugs that are more genuinely Republican — is the party’s inability or unwillingness to repulse his hostile takeover.”
The Tribune said Johnson and his running mate Bill Weld “are agile, practical and, unlike the major-party candidates, experienced at managing governments.”
According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, Johnson is at about 7.2 percent nationally. He failed to qualify for the first presidential debate and likely won’t for the second, scheduled on Oct. 9 in St. Louis.
Illinois is a reliable Democratic state in presidential elections, and Clinton will be heavily favored to win the state’s electoral votes.
The Tribune endorsed George W. Bush in 2004.
With the Tribune endorsement, Johnson now has more newspapers behind his candidacy than Trump.