On Monday, another major newspaper announced its decision to not endorse either presidential candidate in the upcoming election, in yet another blow to Democratic nominee Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).
As Breitbart reports, USA Today spokeswoman Lark-Marie Anton confirmed that the paper would not endorse either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Harris, determining instead that “America’s future is decided locally.” The paper had previously issued an anti-endorsement of Trump in 2016, and endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
“Why are we doing this?” said Anton in a statement. “Because we believe America’s future is decided locally—one race at a time. And with more than 200 publications across the nation, our public service is to provide readers with the facts that matter and the trusted information they need to make informed decisions.”
USA Today is one of the largest newspapers in the country, with a circulation of 132,640 print subscribers and millions of online readers.
This announcement follows similar decisions by two other major newspapers last week: Both the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post announced that they also would not be endorsing either major candidate; this marked the first time that the LA Times has done so since 2004, and the first time the Post has done so since 1988.
The Washington Post further announced that it would never again make a presidential endorsement, saying that they “will not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in this election, nor in any future presidential election.” The paper’s statement says that they plan to “return to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.”
With just one week left before the 2024 election, the sudden rise in major newspapers snubbing Harris after traditionally endorsing Democrats has been interpreted as a sign that the Harris campaign is collapsing. Harris previously failed to receive the endorsement of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the largest unions in the country, after internal polling showed that 60% of Teamsters members favor Trump.