As publisher and editor of the Times-Gazette, a small daily newspaper in this southwest Ohio town (pop. 6,600), I thought our endorsement of Donald Trump for president last year seemed innocuous enough. Then someone said to me, “Did you see that Rachel Maddow mentioned the Times-Gazette last night?”

Seriously?

Next, Politico called. I soon discovered that our two-sentence endorsement was being reported — and often ridiculed — far and wide. The nearby Cincinnati Enquirer produced a post headlined “This Ohio paper is one of only six to endorse Donald Trump.” Not one of six in Ohio — one of six in the entire nation.

Hillsboro is the seat of Highland County, which has voted for the Republican candidate for president for decades but was particularly enthusiastic about Trump. He ended up winning 75 percent of the vote here, compared with 64 percent for Mitt Romney in 2012.