‘The President Clings to His Assertion Like a Drunk to an Empty Gin Bottle’
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Tuesday evening published a scathing editorial rebuking President Donald Trump for “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.”Â
The Journal has the largest newspaper circulation in the nation. Its criticism of President Trump is especially striking given its strong conservative bent, and that it is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which also owns Fox 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,” the editors charge.
The WSJ editors point to Trump’s lie accusing former President Barack Obama of feloniously wiretapping him, and for allowing the lie to stand without retracting and apologizing for it.
They charge, “the President clings to his assertion like a drunk to an empty gin bottle, rolling out his press spokesman to make more dubious claims. Sean Spicer—who doesn’t deserve this treatment—was dispatched last week to repeat an assertion by a Fox News commentator that perhaps the Obama Administration had subcontracted the wiretap to British intelligence.”
And they call Spicer’s reading of a transcript of Fox News’ Judge Andrew Napolitano’s false claim that promulgated the lie of British Intelligence doing Obama’s dirty work, “grasping for any evidence to back up his original tweet,” and berate Trump for “the sin of pride in not admitting error.”Â
They conclude:Â
“Two months into his Presidency, Gallup has Mr. Trump’s approval rating at 39%. No doubt Mr. Trump considers that fake news, but if he doesn’t show more respect for the truth most Americans may conclude he’s a fake President.”
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