• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Leadership

USA Today Does Not Want You to Vote for Donald Trump

By
Madeline Farber
Madeline Farber
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Madeline Farber
Madeline Farber
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 30, 2016, 9:59 AM ET
Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C Groundbreaking Ceremony
Photograph by Paul Morigi — WireImage

National newspaper USA Today took an unprecedented stance against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in a scathing editorial Thursday night.

For the first time in more than 30 years, the paper’s editorial board broke its non-presidential endorsement policy saying that Trump is “unfit for the presidency.” In the op-ed piece, the board did not back a specific candidate, but rather urged voters to not vote for Trump.

“This year, the choice isn’t between two capable major party nominees who happen to have significant ideological differences,” the board wrote. “This year, one of the candidates—Republican nominee Donald Trump—is, by unanimous consensus of the Editorial Board, unfit for the presidency.”

The board listed eight different reasons to back its decision, writing that Trump “traffics in prejudice,” is a “serial liar,” and is “erratic,” among other criticisms.

USA Today’s editorial board also said Trump has “coarsened the national dialogue” and that his “business career is checkered,” referencing Trump’s six bankruptcy filings, “apparent misuse” of the family’s charitable foundation, and allegations of fraud by Trump University customers.

“From the day he declared his candidacy 15 months ago through this week’s first presidential debate, Trump has demonstrated repeatedly that he lacks the temperament, knowledge, steadiness and honesty that America needs from its presidents,” the board wrote.

The board also condemned Trump’s “admiration for authoritarian leaders” and his “scant regard for constitutional protections.”

However, the paper made it clear that it “doesn’t represent unqualified support for Hillary Clinton” and does not currently have a consensus for the Democratic presidential nominee. The op-ed noted that although some members of the board believe Clinton would serve the nation “ably as president,” others have “serious reservations about Clinton’s sense of entitlement, her lack of candor and her extreme carelessness in handling classified information.”

“Whatever you do, however, resist the siren song of a dangerous demagogue. By all means vote, just not for Donald Trump,” the board wrote at the end of its op-ed.

USA Today’s editorial board joins a series of other publications voicing their opinions on the presidential candidates.

A member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board endorsed Clinton Thursday evening, and just this month, the Arizona Republic, the Cincinnati Enquirer and Dallas Morning News all backed Clinton as well.

The New Hampshire Union Leader and the Detroit News both endorsed Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, which was the first time in 143 years that the latter publication did not endorse a Republican candidate, according to CNN.

Fortune has reached out to the Trump campaign and will update this story if we receive a response.

About the Author
By Madeline Farber
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Leadership

Workplace CultureBrainstorm Design
How two leaders used design thinking and a focus on outcomes to transform two Fortune 500 giants
By Christina PantinDecember 4, 2025
58 minutes ago
Rich woman lounging on boat
SuccessWealth
The wealthy 1% are turning to new status symbols that can’t be bought—and it’s hurting Dior, Versace, and Burberry
By Emma BurleighDecember 3, 2025
11 hours ago
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., during the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024.
AIMeta
Inside Silicon Valley’s ‘soup wars’: Why Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI are hand-delivering soup to poach talent
By Eva RoytburgDecember 3, 2025
11 hours ago
Alex Karp smiles on stage
Big TechPalantir Technologies
Alex Karp credits his dyslexia for Palantir’s $415 billion success: ‘There is no playbook a dyslexic can master … therefore we learn to think freely’
By Lily Mae LazarusDecember 3, 2025
12 hours ago
Isaacman
PoliticsNASA
Billionaire spacewalker pleads his case to lead NASA, again, in Senate hearing
By Marcia Dunn and The Associated PressDecember 3, 2025
13 hours ago
UPS
LawUPS
Lawyer blasts UPS for favoring profits over safety after fiery, deadly crash in Kentucky
By Jeffrey Collins and The Associated PressDecember 3, 2025
13 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Ford workers told their CEO 'none of the young people want to work here.' So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder's playbook
By Sasha RogelbergNovember 28, 2025
6 days ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Anonymous $50 million donation helps cover the next 50 years of tuition for medical lab science students at University of Washington
By The Associated PressDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
MacKenzie Scott's $19 billion donations have turned philanthropy on its head—why her style of giving actually works
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Innovation
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says we’re just a decade away from a new normal of extraterrestrial data centers
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 1, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Scott Bessent calls the Giving Pledge well-intentioned but ‘very amorphous,’ growing from ‘a panic among the billionaire class’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 3, 2025
14 hours ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.