The Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal has warned Donald Trump that a “major reset” is needed if his second term is to be successful.
The paper’s editorial board claimed the execution of some of the president’s priorities “hasn’t matched” his promises and warned that he will “fail unless he heeds the warnings” in an opinion piece published Monday.
The board also—as they have before—criticized Trump primarily over his tariff policy, which they said could “sink his Presidency.”
“Mr. Trump was elected to control inflation and raise real incomes, but tariffs do the opposite,” they noted, drawing a comparison to Richard Nixon imposing a tariff in his second term.
“It’s a mistake to think the tariff damage is only domestic,” they went on. “The willy-nilly assault on friends and foes has shaken global confidence in U.S. reliability. Ken Griffin, the investor and major donor to Mr. Trump, summed it up last week as a self-inflicted blow to the American brand. The U.S. is needlessly ceding global economic leadership.”
Trump’s tariffs, the Journal added, are a “gift” to China, since U.S. allies are increasingly looking to that country as a more reliable market. Doing so imperils any trade alliance to thwart China’s “often predatory economic behavior.”
The Journal was more kind about Trump’s foreign policy, calling it a “work in progress.” But on the issue of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the president’s “one-sided pursuit of peace” was a “main cause of alarm.” The board cited Trump’s rare criticisms of Vladimir Putin while “squeezing Ukraine to make concessions that could doom it to future marauding.”
While Trump adhered to more mainstream Republican policy objectives in his first term, the op-ed concluded, “This term he is indulging his trade and foreign-policy obsessions, and the early results are negative.”
“He’ll fail unless he heeds the warnings.”
Since Trump took office nearly 100 days ago, the Journal has differed from Trump on topics besides tariffs.
In an editorial earlier this month titled, “Donald Trump Tries to Run Harvard,” the board wrote that many of his “unprecedented” demands of the university “exceed his power under the Constitution.”
Harvard has put up a fight, causing Trump to retaliate by freezing billions in grants and threaten the school’s tax-exempt status. This battle could very well be lost in court, the Journal wrote Monday, reiterating that Trump has launched an “intrusion on free speech.”
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