The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal is calling Tuesday night’s election results in Wisconsin in Florida a wake-up call for President Trump and Republicans.
“Democrats solidified their 4-3 progressive majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday, and the ramifications are nationwide,” the journal’s editorial board wrote late Tuesday, calling Democratic Judge Susan Crawford’s win “the second sign in two weeks of a political backlash against the Trump Presidency.”
“That’s a warning to the GOP that the Trump-Musk governing style is stirring a backlash that could cost them control of Congress next year,” the Journal said.
Republicans held on to two House seats in Florida on Tuesday, though the Journal said even there margins were thinner than expected, writing “we hope the results don’t scare House Republicans into backing away from their tax and regulatory reform agenda.”
“But the elections are a warning to Mr. Trump to focus on what got him re-elected — especially prices and growth in real incomes after inflation,” the newspaper continued. “His willy-nilly tariff agenda undermining stock prices and consumer and business confidence isn’t helping.”
The Journal has been sharply critical of Trump during the first three months of his presidency, and is owned by billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who has a hot-and-cold relationship with Trump dating back decades.
In August 2023, Trump called Murdoch a “globalist” trying to take him out with what he saw as favorable coverage of his primary opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by Fox News and the Journal.
However, Murdoch paid a visit to the White House early in Trump’s second term, with the president praising him in front of reporters.
“Just respect, I have great respect for Rupert Murdoch,” Trump said on Feb. 3, with Murdoch seated nearby. “I disagree with him a lot of times with The Wall Street Journal but it’s all right. We’ve disagreed before. And I’m sure they didn’t have any idea what they were talking about.”