The Wall Street Journal editorial page was reliably right-wing even before Rupert Murdoch bought the paper. Its editors really, really want to have Donald Trump’s back. They want him to tell lies they can enthusiastically support. So even in the middle of a sharply critical editorial, you can tell it pains them that he’s making it too hard for them—but the fact that the Wall Street Journal editorial board is going at Trump this hard is news.
If President Trump announces that North Korea launched a missile that landed within 100 miles of Hawaii, would most Americans believe him? Would the rest of the world? We’re not sure, which speaks to the damage that Mr. Trump is doing to his Presidency with his seemingly endless stream of exaggerations, evidence-free accusations, implausible denials and other falsehoods.
The latest example is Mr. Trump’s refusal to back off his Saturday morning tweet of three weeks ago that he had “found out that [Barack] Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory” on Election Day. He has offered no evidence for his claim, and a parade of intelligence officials, senior Republicans and Democrats have since said they have seen no such evidence.
Yet the President clings to his assertion like a drunk to an empty gin bottle, rolling out his press spokesman to make more dubious claims.
This is how it sounds when a would-be ally has to publicly warn Trump that he’s on the brink. But it’s unlikely that Trump, the ultimate “you’re with me or you’re against me” guy, can listen. The rest of us just have to hope that he ends up being worse for the Republican Party than he is for the country.