The Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal published an editorial warning MAGA that its victory in Indiana this week could end up being a hollow one.
Five Republican legislators were ousted by challengers endorsed by Donald Trump in Tuesday’s primary election, demonstrating the control he still enjoys over the party.
The 79-year-old president celebrated the news on Truth Social, posting graphics for all successful candidates, as well as an article that quoted Sen. Jim Banks as saying, “President Trump is the single most popular Republican among Hoosier voters.”
In the opinion piece published on Wednesday, the Journal’s editorial board noted that while “the media scorekeepers have declared that President Trump remains the king of the Republican Party,” the more pertinent question is whether “his kingdom will shrink after November.”
The Journal went on to argue that Tuesday’s results are not as momentous as they may appear, and that despite the “MAGA machine” going all-in, there was little to show for it.
“Indiana’s current U.S. House districts are split 7-2, giving 78% of the seats to the GOP. Mr. Trump carried only 59% of the state’s vote in 2024,” the board wrote.
“The map proposed last year aimed to turn Indiana into a 9-0 state, but that wouldn’t reflect Indiana, and a gain of two seats might get swamped by a blue wave,” it continued, referring to the congressional map that Indiana anti-Trump Republicans rejected last year. “The districts won’t change this year in any case.”
The Journal’s editorial board questioned the usefulness of Trump’s vendetta against Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, who said that for every constituent in favor of redrawing the state’s map, 10 were against it. He also expressed doubts about the GOP attempting to win all nine congressional seats.
In response, Trump dismissed Bray as a Republican in name only or RINO, writing on Truth Social in January, “We’re after you Bray, like no one has ever come after you before!”
“Mr. Bray isn’t up for re-election until 2028‚” the Journal noted. “Why is this GOP infighting a useful focus six months before November?”
The editorial also touched on Michigan, where Democrats managed to hold on to their majority, and Iowa, which Vice President JD Vance visited this week and where it warned that “the tariff damage to the farm economy could cost the GOP two House seats and maybe the governorship.”
Republicans hope to maintain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, while Democrats are working to turn red districts blue.
Most polls show that Democrats have the edge six months out from the election, with an April ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll showing Democrats with a 5-point lead over Republicans, up from 2 points in February.
The president’s own polling is similarly dire, with the same April poll indicating that his approval rating has reached a new low of 37 percent, down from 39 percent in February. His disapproval rating had risen slightly, reaching a new high of 62 percent.
The Wall Street Journal noted the president’s abysmal ratings in its editorial, adding a sarcastic note at the end: “Mr. Trump’s approval rating is grim. But hey, he can still rule in Indiana primaries.”
