Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Rebukes Trump for Trying to Kill Border Deal, Warns Americans Will Blame GOP
The Wall Street Journal‘s editorial board is warning Republicans that they may pay a political price for letting Donald Trump rip up a deal to beef up border security measures and provide more aid to Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Punchbowl News reported that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had told his colleagues that they were in a “quandary” because Trump opposes the deal and the caucus doesn’t want to do anything to “undermine” the likely Republican presidential nominee.
The Journal submitted that following Trump’s command “would be a self-inflicted wound.”
“President Biden would claim, with cause, that Republicans want border chaos as an election issue rather than solving the problem,” argued its editors. “Voter anger may over time move from Mr. Biden to the GOP, and the public will have a point. Cynical is the only word that fits Republicans panning a border deal whose details aren’t even known.”
They also cast doubt on the idea that Trump himself would be able to broker a better deal if he recaptures the White House:
Mr. Trump may imagine he can strike his own border deal if he wins, but that’s highly unlikely. Democrats are willing to discuss asylum and parole changes now because President Biden and Democrats are suffering in the polls from the ugly scenes on television. If Mr. Trump returns to Washington, the left will revert to its factory settings of opposing all Trump priorities. Especially if Mr. Trump sabotages a bipartisan deal now.
Similarly, the Journal warned that Republicans’ reticence to continue funding the Ukrainian war effort could backfire spectacularly.
“If negotiations fail, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will eventually put the Ukraine bill up for another vote, and he should. If the GOP blocks the bill in either the Senate or the House, it will share responsibility for whatever happens next in Ukraine. Kyiv’s defeat will be signed with the party’s signature,” reads the editorial. “Do Republicans want to sponsor the 2024 equivalent of Saigon 1975?”
