Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Responds to Trump's Criticism: "Thanks for the Attention"

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Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:34 pm

The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal responded to former President Donald Trump after he criticized their coverage of him and his administration. The Journal, one of the more conservative nationally syndicated publications, said Trump is to blame for Republicans losing their Senate majority in the most recent election.

“He cost the GOP two Georgia Senate races on Jan. 5 as he made his claims of election fraud the main issue rather than checking Mr. Biden and Nancy Pelosi,” the editorial board wrote. “Mr. Trump essentially told his Georgia supporters their votes didn’t matter, and many stayed home. The GOP lost the Senate.”

The editorial board’s comments were a reference to remarks Trump made in the days leading up to the Georgia Senate runoffs, two pivotal races that would determine which of the two political parties would control Congress’s upper chamber. At the time, Trump, angry over losing the general election to President Joe Biden, attacked Republicans for not backing his claims that voter fraud took place, leading to concerns that he was trying to sabotage the GOP’s chances of retaining control of the Senate.

“Losing to Joe Biden of all people, and by 7.1 million votes as an incumbent President, must be painful. Counseling could be in order. Any good analyst will explain that the first step toward recovery is to accept reality. The same applies to Republican voters who want to win back Congress in 2022 and the White House in 2024,” the board wrote.

The editorial board penned its criticisms after Trump lashed out at the news outlet for urging Republicans to abandon him.

“They fight for RINOS that have so badly hurt the Republican Party,” Trump said in a statement, referring to individuals he has lambasted as “Republicans in Name Only” for not following him in lockstep. “That’s where they are and that’s where they will always be. Fortunately, nobody cares much about The Wall Street Journal editorial anymore. They have lost great credibility.”

The editorial board said they “empathize if former President Trump is frustrated these days.”

“Former Presidents and Vice Presidents have told us how psychologically difficult the early months of lost political power can be. We can therefore empathize if former President Trump is frustrated these days, and perhaps that explains his attack on us Thursday over his role in the GOP’s loss of the Senate,” the editorial board said, concluding: “For someone who says we don’t matter, he sure spends a lot of time reading and responding to us. Thanks for the attention.”