Top Wall Street Journal Editor Defends Trump Coverage -
Gerard Baker, the editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, vigorously defended his newspaper’s coverage
of President Trump on Monday, rejecting suggestions that The Journal had not been aggressive enough.
“The reason they’ve been chosen is not because they’re majority Muslim
but because they’re on the list of countries Obama identified as countries of concern.”
Mr. Baker later sent a note to employees clarifying
that there was “no ban on the phrase ‘Muslim-majority country’” but that the publication should “always be careful that this term is not offered as the only description of the countries covered under the ban.”
The discontent among a faction of journalists at The Journal over coverage of
Mr. Trump stretches back months, according to current and former employees.
Facing tough questioning at a town-hall-style meeting with the staff, Mr. Baker denied
that The Journal had been too soft in its coverage, according to several people who participated in the meeting.
Morale sunk lower last week when Mr. Baker said that Rebecca Blumenstein, a deputy editor in chief who had been at
The Journal for 22 years, was leaving for , where she will become one of the paper’s highest-ranking editors.
During the meeting on Monday, Mr. Baker, in answer to a question about the column, admitted
that he probably should have resisted the temptation to write it, according to some of the people who participated.