The Wall Street Journal editorial board has joined the chorus of those in the media demanding Donald Trump resign as president.
“This goes beyond merely refusing to concede defeat. In our view it crosses a constitutional line that Mr. Trump hasn’t previously crossed. It is impeachable,” the Journal wrote. “If Mr. Trump wants to avoid a second impeachment, his best path would be to take personal responsibility and resign.”
The editorial, a stunning rebuke coming from a Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper, comes a day after Trump supporters, egged on by the president himself, stormed the Capitol in a last-gasp bid to overturn the election he lost to Joe Biden. The ensuing melee on Wednesday afternoon forced congressmembers to evacuate and resulted in the deaths of five people, including a U.S. Capitol police officer. Congress formally certified Biden’s victory in the early hours of Thursday.
Roughly 10 minutes after the Journal published its editorial, Trump put out a video in which he said the rioters who stormed the Capitol “defiled the seat of American democracy.” And though he continued to double down on his baseless claims of election fraud, he said there would be “an orderly transition” to the Biden presidency on Jan. 20.
Even so, multiple lawmakers — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — called for Trump to be removed from office, either by impeachment or invoking the 25th amendment.
Trump’s Twitter and Facebook accounts were suspended on Wednesday, with Facebook extending its ban past Biden’s inauguration. Trump’s most recent video came via his Twitter account, suggesting the social media platform had lifted its 12-hour ban.
This isn’t the first time the Wall Street Journal — which, for much of Trump’s presidency, supported the Republican commander-in-chief — has gone against Trump. In an editorial last month, the board called the then-upcoming attempt by some Republicans to challenge election results and get votes for Biden thrown out “embarrassing.”