One reader who stopped taking the paper said it was still trying to woo him back by delivering an occasional copy to his doorstep. The executive editor, Rob Collins, has worked the phones, talking to subscribers who had canceled or threatened to do so.

“I talked a lot of people off the ledge,” said Mr. Collins, who grew up in Enid and whose father was a respected car salesman. “People knew my dad or know my mom and know my family here. A lot of people who were angry called expecting me to argue right back with them. Really, the only time I would raise my voice is when I would get cursed at or yelled at, which I don’t really like.

“I hope people can respect that we’re entitled to our opinion, too, and that that can be different from news,” he added.

The editorial took shape from notes that Mr. Funk, the publisher, supplied to Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins refined the notes and was the primary author of the endorsement, which was debated and approved by the paper’s seven-member editorial board. The paper’s corporate parent, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., which is based in Alabama and owns newspapers and websites in 23 states, also played a role.

“It was our decision at the corporate level, which of course was made known to all of our papers, that Donald Trump did not meet our company and journalism values, particularly as they related to the First Amendment,” said Bill Ketter, the senior vice president for news.

Asked if the Enid editorial board had the freedom to endorse Mr. Trump, he replied: “Let me put it this way. We would have been disappointed. Did we demand that they do something? No, we didn’t do that. We set out our principles and our standards.”