WSJ editorial: Trump will never live down 'disgraceful' conduct even if he's not convicted

The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board on Thursday delivered a damning verdict on former President Donald Trump's "disgraceful" conduct during the January 6th riots at the United States Capitol building.

At the start of the editorial, the editors credit House impeachment managers for "laying out a visceral case that the Capitol riot of Jan. 6 was a disgrace for which President Trump bears responsibility."

The editors note that Trump continued to escalate his rhetoric even as court after court found his campaign's claims of mass voter fraud to be utterly meritless.

"Mr. Trump told an apocalyptic fable in which American democracy might end on Jan. 6, and some people who believed him acted like it," they write. "Once the riot began, Mr. Trump took hours to say anything, a delay his defenders have not satisfactorily explained."

The editorial concludes by stating that Trump's conduct during the riots should end any future political ambitions, even if it doesn't result in his conviction.

"Now his legacy will be forever stained by this violence, and by his betrayal of his supporters in refusing to tell them the truth," the editors write. "Whatever the result of the impeachment trial, Republicans should remember the betrayal if Mr. Trump decides to run again in 2024."