When Donald J. Trump returns to campaign in New Hampshire on Thursday, he will be greeted by a familiar, if unwelcome, sight — a blistering attack on the front page of The Union Leader.
After assailing Mr. Trump on a regular basis leading up to the state’s primary, the venerable Union Leader, a conservative bulwark for generations, is now going a step further: For the first time in over 100 years, New Hampshire’s largest newspaper will not be endorsing the Republican nominee for president.
“The man is a liar, a bully, a buffoon,” wrote Joseph W. McQuaid, the Union Leader publisher, of Mr. Trump in a signed editorial. “He denigrates any individual or group that displeases him. He has dishonored military veterans and their families, made fun of the physically frail, and changed political views almost as often as he has changed wives.”
Rather than picking between what Mr. McQuaid termed “the lesser of two evils,” The Union Leader has bestowed its endorsement on Gary Johnson, the Libertarian nominee for president. Notably, the paper made clear that it was backing the entire Libertarian ticket, which includes William Weld, a former Massachusetts governor who is familiar to some New Hampshire voters.
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