The Wall Street Journal denounced Republican nominee Donald Trump in a searing editorial on Monday, saying that if the Republican nominee doesn’t change his behavior by Labor Day the party should dump him.
“He needs to stop blaming everyone else and decide if he wants to behave like someone who wants to be President — or turn the nomination over to Mike Pence,” the conservative WSJ editorial board wrote.
The editorial is significant because the Journal is one of the most respected conservative voices on the media landscape and holds sway with Wall Street and beyond.
The editorial also validated a New York Times investigative story this weekend saying that the people close to the nominee have been trying to get him to act more disciplined.
“The latest stories comport with what we also hear from sources close to the Trump campaign. Mr. Trump’s advisers and his family want the candidate to deliver a consistent message making the case for change. They’d like him to be disciplined,” the Journal wrote.
Instead Trump spent Sunday bashing the media on Twitter, writing that he “always” stays on message and that the media “misrepresents” him.
“Trump has made it so easy for the media and his opponents,” said the editorial. “Trump prefers to watch the cable shows rather than read a briefing paper. He thinks the same shoot-from-the-lip style that won over a plurality of GOP primary voters can persuade other Republicans and independents who worry if he has the temperament to be Commander in Chief.”
The paper said that Trump’s advisors want him to spend more time studying the issues before asking, “Is that so hard?” and answering the question, “Apparently so.”
The WSJ editorial board also ripped Trump for being outspent, losing in every key battleground state, alienating his party and said he “isn’t running a competent campaign.”
The column concludes: “If they can’t get Mr. Trump to change his act by Labor Day, the GOP will have no choice but to write off the nominee as hopeless and focus on salvaging the Senate and House and other down-ballot races. As for Mr. Trump, he needs to stop blaming everyone else and decide if he wants to behave like someone who wants to be President–or turn the nomination over to Mike Pence.”