Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Blames Trump for Republican Midterm Losses
The Journal's editorial board said the Republican losses were more than a normal defeat, as Democrats are poised to take control of both the House and Senate.
The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal placed much of the blame for Republican losses in Tuesday's elections on President Donald Trump, according to a report by The Hill. The Hill's report, written by Tara Suter, described the board as calling Trump the main architect of the party's setbacks, as Democrats were poised to take control of both the House and the Senate.
The Hill reported that the board acknowledged Republicans may take some comfort from history, since midterm defeats in second presidential terms are common. The board nevertheless wrote that "more than a normal defeat" had occurred, according to the excerpt quoted in that report.
The Hill's account of the editorial did not include its full text, so the board's reasoning is limited to the points quoted and summarized in the report. The report did not specify the seat totals Democrats are expected to win, and it did not describe the specific decisions or statements the board cited in assigning responsibility to the president.
This account rests on a single source, The Hill's report, and it attributes its characterizations of the outcome to the Journal's editorial board rather than to independent reporting. Readers seeking the complete argument of the editorial would need to consult the Journal's own text, which was not part of the material reviewed for this story.
Sources: The Hill: Wall Street Journal editorial board: Trump 'main architect' of GOP midterm 'rout'.