Posted on: October 14, 2024, 04:16h.
Last updated on: October 14, 2024, 04:17h.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has endorsed former President Donald Trump for the 2024 United States presidential election.
Nevada’s most circulated newspaper with more than 172K daily prints, the RJ’s editorial team today lent its backing to Trump, a former owner of casinos in Atlantic City and Indiana. The RJ Editorial Board, including Publisher and Editor J. Keith Moyer and Executive Editor Glenn Cook, concluded that Trump is a better fit to lead the nation over the next four years.
Many voters are dissatisfied with the choice before them in November. They have a point. But when we weigh the policy results of Mr. Trump’s four years in office against those of Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden, the contrast becomes difficult to ignore. Donald Trump is the better choice,” the op-ed read.
The endorsement detailed contrasting administrations between Trump’s four years in the Oval Office and Harris being President Joe Biden’s right-hand woman since January 2021. The RJ backing cited Harris saying last week that she wouldn’t have done anything different than her boss despite the Biden administration experiencing “international chaos” with two major wars, the federal debt ballooning to $35 trillion, and inflation hitting its highest rate in four decades at 9%.
Casino Ties
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has been owned by the Adelson family since the casino billionaires acquired the media group in 2015 for $140 million. Sheldon Adelson made his tens of billions of dollars by founding and running the Las Vegas Sands empire in Las Vegas, Singapore, and China’s Macau.
Adelson, until his death in January 2021, was one of Trump’s largest political donors. Adelson’s widow, Dr. Miriam Adelson, is carrying on her husband’s legacy, saying in August that she’ll spend “whatever it takes” to put Trump back in the White House.
Forbes estimates the Adelson family fortune at nearly $35 billion as of Oct. 14.
After the Adelsons took control of the RJ, many longtime reporters jumped ship on fears that the Republican stalwarts would force their political opinions on the newsroom. The RJ endorsed Trump in 2016 and again in 2020.
So, the RJ endorsing Trump comes as little surprise this year. Dr. Adelson believes Trump is most suited to protect Israel as it continues its war against Hamas and Palestine.
The Review-Journal didn’t become a GOP-operative when the Adelsons took control, as the paper also endorsed Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 election, John McCain in 2008, and George W. Bush in 2004.
Do Endorsements Matter?
There are presumably few undecided voters left at this juncture of the 2024 presidential election. But with Nevada being considered a key swing state, the RJ’s backing of Trump certainly won’t hurt the Republican’s odds.
On the betting exchange Polymarket, Trump’s implied odds of winning the Nov. 5 contest are trading at 55%. As for Nevada, Harris has the narrowest of leads at implied odds of 51%. Recent polling, however, suggests Trump has a narrow lead in the state.
In today’s 24/7 news cycle and perpetual social media scrolling, newspaper editorial endorsements carry significantly less importance than they did a few decades ago when Americans primarily gathered their news through legacy media.
They [newspaper endorsements] have outlived their usefulness because of the increased polarization and the skepticism of media in general,” said Des Moines Register Executive Director Carol Hunter.
Despite most voters not turning to their newspapers to decide how to vote, many newspapers and media entities continue to endorse presidential candidates. In 2024, the Democratic candidate once again fielded the majority of those media backings.
Harris has been endorsed by The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vogue, Wisconsin State Journal, The Seattle Times, and many more. The RJ backing Trump joins a much smaller media list but one that includes The Washington Times and The Jewish Voice.
