A ‘Warning’ on ‘Trump’s Unpopularity’: The Wall Street Journal Torches ‘MAGA Triumphalism’ After Election Night

AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

The Wall Street Journal declared that “The era of MAGA triumphalism should be over” in an editorial about Tuesday night’s election results published Wednesday morning.

Under the headline, “Democrats Start Their Comeback,” and sub-headline, “A warning for the GOP from New Jersey and Virginia on affordability and Trump’s unpopularity,” the Journal observed that “President Trump rolled to victory in 2024 promising to reduce inflation and make middle-class life more affordable. The warning to Republicans in Tuesday’s election results is that Democrats are turning the tables on affordability, especially when they steer clear of leftist cultural snares.”

After reviewing Democrats’ victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City, the conservative newspaper suggested that President Donald Trump played a role in the GOP’s struggles:

Virginia and New Jersey were always going to be uphill races for Republicans, since these odd-year gubernatorial elections sometimes go against the party in the White House. The GOP won both states in 2009 and Virginia in 2021, under Presidents Obama and Biden. This time Democrats had the advantage of rallying voters upset at President Trump. Exit polls showed Mr. Trump’s approval rating at 44% in New Jersey and 42% in Virginia. The era of MAGA triumphalism should be over.

The Journal wasn’t the only conservative media entity to acknowledge as much. On Fox News, Brit Hume chalked up Democrats’ triumphs to anti-Trump sentiment.

“Well, I don’t think you ever need to look very far in our current politics without wondering what the effect of Donald Trump was and is. I was struck by what was coming out of Jack-, out of Mikie Sherrill’s campaign tonight that he was a big factor in the races for she was concerned, and resistance to him was that,” observed Hume. “There was a number that was cited earlier from our polling data that showed that something like seventy percent of the voters on her side that were were acting to resist Donald Trump. So I think we have to keep that in mind as we look at all these results.”

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