'No business being president': Influential conservative publisher rips 'dangerous' Trump

Joe McQuaid — the publisher of Manchester, New Hampshire's Union Leader newspaper — is seen as one of the most influential conservatives in the Granite State. And it's a near certainty that former President Donald Trump will not win its coveted endorsement.

In a recent interview with Politico, McQuaid weighed in on the upcoming New Hampshire presidential primary on Tuesday. He didn't mince words when asked about his thoughts on the former president's bid for the 2024 Republican nomination, and his death grip on the Republican Party as a whole.

"He has no business being president of the United States," McQuaid said. "He’s a dangerous man and he has a lot of sycophants, and he has a party which looks at the world today in the political landscape and has determined that they must say nice things about him or they’re not going to get elected."

Trump worked hard to win over McQuaid and earn the Union Leader's endorsement, traveling to New Hampshire in 2015 to speak at the state's well-known "Politics & Eggs" event. McQuaid recalled that New Hampshire Institute of Politics director Neil Levesque, who organized the event, said Trump specifically asked for McQuaid to attend his speech. McQuaid also invited Trump to Manchester's municipal golf club, where he said the billionaire "scarfed down a cheeseburger and all the fries."

The Union Leader refrained from endorsing Trump in 2016, and instead threw its weight behind then-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who ultimately finished in 6th place. Trump won the Granite State handily, garnering more than twice as many votes as second-place finisher Governor John Kasich (R-Ohio).

In response to not winning the Union Leader's official endorsement, Trump savaged both McQuaid and the publication, saying the publisher was "a real lowlife" and describing the paper as "a piece of garbage."

While the endorsement has not yet been announced, it's likely that McQuaid's paper will officially back former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, who has also won the support of New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. McQuaid told Politico that the ex-South Carolina governor was the best candidate for Republicans to win in November, saying "Haley would clean the floor with [President Joe] Biden."