It’s not exactly news when the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal echo the Republican Party line with all the nuance of ventriloquists and puppets. In this age of blurred editorial lines, keeping News Corp.’s most toadyish conservatism penned in the “Opinion” section (when its adherents aren’t busy on Fox) is something, anyway.
For that reason, this week’s quiz won’t be highlighting such recent WSJ Editorial Board gems as “Trump, Troops and the Mayhem in Chicago: He’s making D.C. safer, but his power elsewhere and use of National Guard is limited under the law,” or “The DEI Battle Over Virginia’s Public Colleges: Democrats try to sever Youngkin’s control, as GMU faces a deadline.” Thoughts and prayers for the board’s ideological consistency as it advances both the narrative that Donald Trump could make the whole country “safer” (if only those pesky laws weren’t in the way), and also that Democrats are unlawfully constraining Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin by voting down his picks for academic board seats (on the basis of nonsense concerns like the “dismantling [of] public education to advance a partisan agenda”).
So we’re not covering those headlines. We are gathered here today to guess about an op-ed that platforms a Trump Cabinet official who is daily spreading hostile misinformation, endangering American lives and democratic institutions.
Which of the below is the real headline?
Pam Bondi: We’re Restoring Public Trust in the Department of Justice
The real culprits in the Epstein saga? Blatant partisanship and bureaucratic inertia under President Trump’s predecessors.
Kristi Noem: We’re Restoring Public Trust in Immigration Reform
Homeland Security is finally living up to its name, safeguarding our jobs, our children, and what makes America truly great.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: We’re Restoring Public Trust in the CDC
The agency’s Covid failures stem from politicized science, bureaucratic inertia, and mission creep.
Answer here.*
The voices of Cabinet officials should be heard in the media; that’s not what’s at issue here. Each of Trump’s sycophants and sociopaths should be called on to explain policy and answer for their (sometimes literal) crimes. By dint of their all-too-real power, the American public needs to know not only what these people are doing but also how they’re rationalizing it. That said, the press has an obligation to engage with this administration only with the rigorous application of context. Interview Trump’s Cabinet members, but call them to task on every false claim. Quote them, but confirm or refute those quotes with fact-checks. Meet their politicizing with investigative journalism and nonpartisan expertise, every single time.
Do not give them carte blanche to lie in the opinion pages of a major newspaper, no matter its established editorial leanings. Coverage of this administration cannot be business as usual for any corner of a press that wants to remain free.
On the bright side: WSJ’s readers are making their displeasure known, if the comments section is anything to go by.
* This link will take you to an archived version of the piece in question so as not to send traffic to the original site.
Ah, Editorial / Opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal! I discovered over 30 years ago that I had a near-overwhelming allergic response to that bastion of Conservative thought! But now, I break bread & enjoy a glass (or two) with most likely the same Conservatives who relished those pages. I've learned that true Conservatives value truth, integrity, the Constitution, the "conservation" of our American system of governance and the Rule of Law. It's a dishonor to the intellect of these people who brought thought provoking diversity of ideas to our political discourse to call the Trump CULT members and sycophants "conservatives." Can we call out the elephant in the room? They're fascists. So PLEASE YES - let's nag the WSJ to keep up their reputation for fine journalism.
I got it because I spotted that editorial the other day. Curses on WSJ for giving Kennedy a megaphone.