Various notable newspapers made endorsements of candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election, as follows. Tables below indicate which candidate each publication endorsed in the United States presidential election, 2012 (where known) and include only endorsements for the general election. Primary endorsements are separately listed at newspaper endorsements in the United States presidential primaries, 2016.

Media journalist Jim Rutenberg writes that endorsements in the 2016 presidential election are distinguished by "blunt condemnation" of the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and by a "save the Republic" tone.[1]

Trump received endorsements from only 20 daily newspapers and six weekly newspapers nationwide, of which only two, the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, had circulations of above 100,000.[2] The small number of endorsements received by Trump was unprecedented in American history for a candidate from a major party.[3][4][5]

Among the United States' 100 largest newspapers by paid circulation, 57 endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton,[6] while only two, the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Florida Times-Union, endorsed Trump. Four (the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit News, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and the Charleston (South Carolina) Post and Courier) endorsed Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson,[7] while three other newspapers (USA Today, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) specifically discouraged their readers from voting for Trump. Clinton won support from not only traditionally Democratic-leaning newspapers, but also traditionally non-political and conservative newspapers,[1][2] including those that had "...either never before supported a Democrat or had not in many decades ... or had never endorsed any presidential candidate, like USA Today."[1] Many newspapers that endorsed Clinton encouraged readers to vote for her primarily, if not solely, to prevent Trump from being elected president. The endorsements by a handful of newspapers of third party candidates, including independent candidate Evan McMullin as well as Johnson, broke from the usual practice of newspaper editorial boards endorsing a candidate from one of the two major parties.[2][8]

Summary of newspaper and magazine endorsements in the 2016 United States presidential election

Candidate Daily Weekly Magazines College International Total Hillary Clinton 243 148 15 77 17 500 No endorsement 64 13 0 5 0 82 Not Donald Trump 8 2 4 12 4 30 Donald Trump 20 6 0 0 2 28 Gary Johnson 9 0 0 0 0 9 Split endorsement 2 0 0 0 0 2 Evan McMullin 1 0 0 0 0 1 Not Hillary Clinton 1 0 0 0 0 1