Can conservative newspapers boost Johnson鈥檚 appeal?
鈥淎leppo moments鈥� aren鈥檛 hurting Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson 鈥� at least not when it comes to newspaper endorsements.
On Thursday, The Detroit News backed Johnson in spite of its right-leaning editorial stance. The endorsement comes just one day after the candidate鈥檚 latest foreign policy gaffe, in which he failed to name a single world leader he admired. In the paper鈥檚 143-year history, it has never endorsed a non-Republican candidate.
鈥淲e recognize the Libertarian candidate is the longest of long shots with an electorate that has been conditioned to believe only Republicans and Democrats can win major offices,鈥� the endorsement reads. 鈥淏ut this is an , reflecting our confidence that Johnson would be a competent and capable president and an honorable one.鈥�
In the digital age, newspapers rarely have the built-in cultural influence to sway voters completely. But endorsements can persuade them to peer over the party lines. And in swing states such as Michigan and New Hampshire, that can make a considerable difference.
The Union Leader of Manchester, N.H., another conservative broadsheet, endorsed the former New Mexico governor earlier this month. Both papers cite Johnson鈥檚 public service record as proof of his qualifications. The Detroit News goes further, praising the candidate鈥檚 emphasis on free-market capitalism and legal pathways to citizenship for immigrants.
And then there鈥檚 that darn 鈥淎leppo鈥� thing.
鈥淥ur apprehension about Johnson rests with foreign policy,鈥� the paper鈥檚 editorial board wrote. 鈥淗e holds to conventional libertarian non-interventionism. But he understands America鈥檚 position in the world, and we are certain that once the weight of leadership is on his shoulders, he will meet that responsibility.鈥�
But as recent endorsements show, foreign policy blunders may not hurt Johnson all that much. In fact, they may help explain why young voters like him.
海角大神鈥檚 David Iaconangelo reported:
[T]he young 鈥� tend to view foreign policy differently. concluded that Millennials 鈥� defined here as those born between 1980 and 1997 鈥� see the world as 鈥渟ignificantly less threatening than their elders,鈥� and policies drawn up to deal with foreign threats as less urgent. They鈥檙e also more supportive of international cooperation, and far less keen on the use of military force, the report found.
Both major candidates are considerably more hawkish than this standard. In comparison, Johnson鈥檚 floundering on foreign policy questions might seem relatively benign.
Ultimately, the endorsement may reflect more on Donald Trump, for whom Detroit was a major campaigning point, than on Gary Johnson. The Republican candidate visited black church congregations earlier this month in an apparent attempt to soften his image in African-American communities. During Monday night鈥檚 presidential debate, he blasted Ford Motor Company, which is based in Detroit, for its investments in Mexico.
But if Johnson鈥檚 latest endorsement is any indication, Detroit residents may not be looking to Trump for answers.
