Washington Post editorial calls Donald Trump a dangerous 'narcissistic bully'

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 24 November 2015

Donald Trump's presidential campaign has been defined by his battles with the media as much as his fury-fueling comments. Trump has locked horns with NBC, Univision, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and Politico. Now, it's probably safe to the say, the editorial board of The Washington Post is about to join the fast-growing list.

Accusing the perennial GOP front-runner of being a "narcissistic [bully] who [rose] to prominence by spreading lies, appealing to fears and stoking hatred," The Washington Post editorial board's scathing call-to-arms demands that other Republicans help put Trump in his place.

Now some detractors opt again to disregard his lies, but for a different reason: Criticism from establishment politicians and tough questions from establishment journalists, it is feared, will only fuel his self-portrayal as the truth-telling outsider.That may be so, but it cannot justify silence. Just in the past few days, Mr. Trump has repeated the lie that President Obama intends to admit 200,000 Syrian refugees; the correct number is 10,000. He spreads the lie that thousands of American Muslims openly celebrated the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center; in fact, there were no such celebrations. He tweeted a false statistic that blacks are responsible for 81 percent of murders of white victims; in fact, 82 percent of whites are killed by whites. [The Washington Post]

The Post goes on to slam GOP candidates Ted Cruz and Chris Christie for playing nice with Trump. The editorial board barely compliments Jeb Bush and John Kasich for speaking out against "Mr. Trump's more outlandish comments."

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Trump, however, is "dangerous," WaPo said — and enough is, finally, enough.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.