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Las Vegas Review-Journal endorses Donald Trump

The Las Vegas Review-Journal endorsed Donald Trump for president over the weekend, making it one of very few major newspapers around the country to do so.

Adding to the intrigue of being the largest newspaper to endorse Trump is that the paper was recently acquired by Republican megadonor and Trump supporter, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.

The editorial acknowledged Trump's many flaws, but said a Clinton presidency "involves turning public service into an orgy of influence peddling and entitlement designed to line their own pockets."

The editorial praised Trump's plans for a simplified tax code and how he understands the "conditions that lead to prosperity and job creation," whereas Clinton "has spent most of her adult life on the public payroll." It also noted Trump's promise to appoint conservatives to the Supreme Court, while claiming that under Clinton, "protections enshrined in no fewer than five amendments in the Bill of Rights could be eliminated or diminished under a progressive high court."

"Mr. Trump represents neither the danger his critics claim nor the magic elixir many of his supporters crave. But he promises to be a source of disruption and discomfort to the privileged, back-scratching political elites for whom the nation’s strength and solvency have become subservient to power’s pursuit and preservation," the editorial states.

The newspaper has changed dramatically since Adelson bought it late last year in what was supposed to initially be a secret ownership. More than a dozen staff members have been forced out or quit in protest over how the newspaper was being run. The editorial page has also changed, with John Kerr, a new editor appointed in August. The new direction was reflected in the papers scaling back its marijuana coverage, which mirrored its editorial page's stance from supporting the legalization of recreational marijuana use to opposing it. In June, publisher Craig Moon said the Adelsons have no involvement with any of the paper’s other editorials.

Hadas Gold is a reporter at Politico.