President Trump has been in office for barely two months and already, The Wall Street Journal contends in a scathing editorial published Wednesday, his credibility is shot. Given Trump's penchant for exaggeration and his refusal to back off his baseless claim that former President Barack Obama wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower, The Wall Street Journal editorial wonders: "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?"
The editorial argues Trump is quickly becoming "his own worst enemy," seemingly beholden to the "sin of pride in not admitting error." Already, Trump's successes are getting buried by his refusal to back off the wiretapping claim, which not one government official has been able to offer evidence to support.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While Trump may have been able to escape the effects of his "false claims" when he was still a presidential candidate, the editorial contends that was because "his core supporters treated it as mere hyperbole and his opponent was untrustworthy Hillary Clinton." Trump won't enjoy the same benefit of the doubt now that he's president. "As he is learning with the health-care bill, Mr. Trump needs partners in his own party to pass his agenda," the editorial says. "He also needs friends abroad who are willing to trust him when he asks for support, not least in a crisis."
Read the full editorial at The Wall Street Journal.
-
3 killed in Trump’s second Venezuelan boat strikeSpeed Read Legal experts said Trump had no authority to order extrajudicial executions of noncombatants
-
September 16 editorial cartoonsCartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include bad news for inflation, Brian Kilmeade's solution, and Kash Patel's dinner order
-
Fit for a king: must-visit palaces around the UKThe Week Recommends Our pick of the nation’s most magnificent residences for nobles and royals
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
