The New York Times editorial board endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president calling her the ‘only patriotic choice’ and her rival former President Donald Trump ‘unfit for any office.’
The group of opinion journalists who make up the board made the endorsement on Monday with just over 30 days to go before the election in what remains a razor-thin race for the White House.
‘As a dedicated public servant who has demonstrated care, competence and an unwavering commitment to the Constitution, Ms. Harris stands alone in this race,’ they wrote.
The New York Times went after Trump with a blistering critique right out of the gate and praised Harris even though she notably did not sit down for an interview with the editorial board before it made its decision.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at a rally in Las Vegas on September 29. The New York Times editorial board endorsed Harris on Monday calling her the ‘only patriotic choice’
‘It is hard to imagine a candidate more unworthy to serve as president of the United States than Donald Trump,’ the board wrote.
‘He has proved himself morally unfit for an office that asks its occupant to put the good of the nation above self-interest. He has proved himself temperamentally unfit for a role that requires the very qualities — wisdom, honesty, empathy, courage, restraint, humility, discipline — that he most lacks,’ it continued.
The editorial board also blasted the Republican presidential nominee for his criminal charges, being 78-years-old as well as his ‘fundamental lack of interest in policy and his increasingly bizarre cast of associates.’
It later slammed his ‘undisguised fondness for dictatorships and the strongmen’ and accused him of undermining ‘public confidence in the result of the 2020 election’ which they wrote ‘culminated’ in the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
They argued unless voters reject him, ‘Trump will have the power to do profound and lasting harm to our democracy.’
Former President Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally in Erie, PA on September 29. The New York Times editorial board called him ‘unfit’ for any office
While the NYT editorial board offered a brutal take-down of Trump, it called Harris ‘more than a necessary alternative’ and praised her for starting to lay out priorities to help Americans.
It contrasted her plans, which they claimed would ‘help Americans better afford things’ with Trump’s priorities including tax cuts ‘which would benefit mostly the wealthy.’
However, the endorsement was not without some criticism of the 59-year-old vice president’s campaign, noting that some voters have said they want ‘more unscripted encounters’ to explain her ‘vision and policies.’
The editorial board suggested the campaign may be trying to minimize unforced errors but blasted the approach.
While The New York Times editorial board endorsed Harris for president, it criticized her limited unscripted appearances and lack of access, warning it could ‘backfire’
‘That strategy may ultimately prove winning, but it’s a disservice to the American people and to her own record,’ they wrote.
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The warned ‘leaving the public with a sense that she is being shielded from tough questions, as Mr. Biden has been, could backfire by undermining her core argument that a capable new generation stands ready to take the reins of power.’
Harris campaign senior spokesperson Ian Sams appeared on CNN on Monday morning following the endorsement where he was asked to respond to the criticism.
Sams pointed to the vice president’s half-hour live interview last week on MSNBC as well as another podcast interview Harris did that came out Monday morning.
‘So she’s going to continue talking to the American people in these sorts of settings and formats,’ Sams said.
He also insisted she will keep taking questions from reporters on the campaign trail, even though access has been limited to just a few questions she has taken while en route from so-called pool reporters who are traveling with her.
In response, the Trump campaign slammed the newspaper, calling the endorsement ‘about as useful as a moldy old dishrag that hasn’t been cleaned in years.’
‘They had to apologize in 2016 for misleading their readers and completely misreading President Trump’s historic victory, but it seems like they still haven’t learned their lesson,’ wrote Steven Cheung. ‘Kamala Harris is endorsed by the Fake News because she is fake, a phony, and unfit for office.’
The NYT endorsed Joe Biden for president in the 2020 general election but not the primary, even though he sat down with the editorial board for an interview ahead of their decision in late 2019.