Arizona Republic Endorses Dem For First Time: Trump A ‘Recipe’ For ‘Civil Discord’

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton laughs during the presidential debate with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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The deeply conservative Arizona Republic endorsed the Democratic nominee for president for the first time in its 126-year history on Tuesday, labeling Donald Trump a “reckless,” “divisive” candidate who is wrong on immigration and ignorant on foreign policy.

“In a nation with an increasingly diverse population, Trump offers a recipe for permanent civil discord,” the editorial board wrote. “In a global economy, he offers protectionism and a false promise to bring back jobs that no longer exist.”

“America needs to look ahead and build a new era of prosperity for the working class,” they added. “This is Hillary Clinton’s opportunity.”

Trump has used the Grand Canyon state as the backdrop for a number of major rallies, including the fiery August immigration speech in Phoenix in which he called for mass deportation and insisted Mexico would build a new wall on the United States’ border just hours after holding a subdued joint press conference with the Mexican president.

The Republic’s editorial board noted that Arizona has already gone down “the hardline immigration road Trump travels,” with disastrous results.

“It led our state to SB 1070, the 2010 ‘show me your papers’ law that earned Arizona international condemnation and did nothing to resolve real problems with undocumented immigration,” the editorial states. “Arizona understands that we don’t need a repeat of that divisive, unproductive fiasco on the national level.”

The lengthy editorial praises Clinton’s record on gender equality, human rights, national security, and foreign policy, while casting Trump as a candidate with “deep character flaws,” a “stunning lack of human decency,” and a “reckless” habit of making off-the-cuff remarks that could threaten US security.

The former secretary of state is polling closely behind the real estate mogul in Arizona, earning 38.4 percent compared to 43.1 percent for Trump according to TPM’s PollTracker Average.

A number of traditionally conservative newspapers across the country have come out in support of Clinton in recent weeks, including The Dallas Morning News and Cincinnati Enquirer. The New Hampshire Union Leader declined to endorse either major-party candidate, instead backing Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in a pointed affront to Trump.

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