'Incitement by silence': Rupert Murdoch's newspapers blister Trump after J6 hearings
Donald Trump has lost the confidence of both of the major newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
Under the headline, "The President Who Stood Still on Jan. 6," The Wall Street Journal editorial board harshly criticized the former president.
"No matter your views of the Jan. 6 special committee, the facts it is laying out in hearings are sobering. The most horrifying to date came Thursday in a hearing on President Trump’s conduct as the riot raged and he sat watching TV, posting inflammatory tweets and refusing to send help," the editorial board wrote.
"The committee’s critics are right that it lacks political balance," the newspaper wrote. "Still, the brute facts remain: Mr. Trump took an oath to defend the Constitution, and he had a duty as Commander in Chief to protect the Capitol from a mob attacking it in his name. He refused. He didn’t call the military to send help. He didn’t call Mr. Pence to check on the safety of his loyal VP. Instead he fed the mob’s anger and let the riot play out."
The editorial concluded, "Character is revealed in a crisis, and Mr. Pence passed his Jan. 6 trial. Mr. Trump utterly failed his."
Trump was also criticized by the NY Post editorial board under the headline, "Trump's silence on Jan. 6 is damning."
"As his followers stormed the Capitol, calling on his vice president to be hanged, President Donald Trump sat in his private dining room, watching TV, doing nothing. For three hours, seven minutes," the editorial board wrote.
"There has been much debate over whether Trump’s rally speech on Jan. 6, 2021, constituted “incitement.” That’s somewhat of a red herring. What matters more — and has become crystal clear in recent days — is that Trump didn’t lift a finger to stop the violence that followed," the NY Post wrote. "And he was the only person who could stop what was happening. He was the only one the crowd was listening to. It was incitement by silence."
The tabloid concluded he is unfit for office.
"His only focus was to find any means — damn the consequences — to block the peaceful transfer of power.
There is no other explanation, just as there is no defense, for his refusal to stop the violence," the newspaper wrote. "It’s up to the Justice Department to decide if this is a crime. But as a matter of principle, as a matter of character, Trump has proven himself unworthy to be this country’s chief executive again."