WSJ’s Trump editorial draws attention

A Wall Street Journal editorial criticizing President Donald Trump is drawing attention, writes Sydney Ember of the New York Times.

Ember writes, “The editorial, published online Tuesday night, was an extraordinarily harsh rebuke of President Trump, calling him ‘his own worst political enemy’ and asserting that he was damaging his presidency ‘with his seemingly endless stream of exaggerations, evidence-free accusations, implausible denials and other falsehoods.’

“In particular, the editorial board pointed to Mr. Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that former President Barack Obama tapped his phones. ‘The President clings to his assertion like a drunk to an empty gin bottle,’ the editorial said, even though senior intelligence officials, as well as Republicans and Democrats, have said they have seen no evidence to support Mr. Trump’s accusations.

“The paper’s editorial and opinion writers have been critical of Mr. Trump in the past, though the language of the latest editorial, which ran in Wednesday’s paper, seemed intended to remind the president to focus on his stated goals rather than distractions.

“In a statement, a spokeswoman for The Journal said, ‘The editorial speaks for itself,’ and declined to make Paul Gigot, the editorial page editor, available for an interview.”

Read more here. Columbia Journalism Review also wrote about the editorial, noting “The unsigned editorial suggests a rare alignment with the desire of the Journal’s news reporters to aggressively hold Trump and his truth-starved claims to account.”