Every presidential election cycle brings about a few unlikely endorsements. But this cycle is, umm, unusual. And so there’s an unusual amount of endorsements you might not exactly expect. It seems like we get a batch of ’em—the defectors, the ones who don’t usually pick candidates, and of course the growing ranks of the #NeverTrump-ers—every week, so every week we’re going to let you know who they are.
Trump (sort of) gets his first big newspaper endorsement - No major newspapers have endorsed Donald Trump. None. But luckily for Trump, there's one paper in this country whose endorsement he can count on: The one owned by billionaire Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. The Los Vegas Review Journal endorsed Trump on Sunday on the grounds that Trump will "a source of disruption and discomfort to the privileged, back-scratching political elites." So basically Trump will cause discomfort to Adelson.
Trump’s GOP critics keep returning to him - This was also a week in which several of Trump’s Republican detractors slowly made their way back into the fold. South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who was attacked by Trump during the South Carolina primary, has now decided she is voting for GOP nominee, though she qualified by saying, "that doesn't mean it's an easy vote." In addition, Representative Jason Chaffetz, who vowed after the release of Trump’s sexual predator boasts that he would not put his “good name and reputation” behind Donald Trump, has now decided, what’s in a name? He like Haley, reluctantly endorsed Donald Trump.
Despite the tepid nature of both endorsements, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway thanked both Chaffetz and Haley on Twitter.
Yale comedians prank the IRS - The Yale Record, which boasts that it is “America’s oldest college humor magazine" made news this week when it announced the editors would not be endorsing Hillary Clinton. Quoth their editorial:
In its 144-year history, The Yale Record has never endorsed a Democratic candidate for president. In fact, we have never endorsed any candidate for president. This is, in part, due to our strong commitment to being a tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization, which mandates that we are “absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.” …In particular, we do not endorse Hillary Clinton’s exemplary leadership during her 30 years in the public eye. We do not support her impressive commitment to serving and improving this country—a commitment to which she has dedicated her entire professional career.
Their non-endorsement endorsement is the elite college equivalent of telling the IRS to “come at me, bro.”
Hey look, celebrities - Hillary Clinton also added to her growing list of celebrity endorsements this week with nods from both British pop-singer Adele and American actor James Franco. Adele told a crowd in Miami that she is “100 percent for Hillary Clinton.” As a British citizen, Adele can't actually vote, but her left-leaning political sentiments are no secret to her fans: In 2012 she famously called David Cameron “a wally,” which is probably bad.
Franco on the other hand, decided to make his endorsement with a parody Instagram video that is either mildly funny, or the last gasp of an overused cultural reference.