Donald Trump Jr. issued a blistering rebuke of The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board on Friday after the paper published an op-ed defending Afghan refugees living in the United States.
The dispute comes in the aftermath of the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., allegedly carried out by an Afghan national, which prompted President Donald Trump to halt “all immigration requests” from Afghan migrants and later expand that pause to include “migration from all Third World Countries.”
The Journal’s editorial, titled “The Ambush on the National Guard,” pushed back against the idea that one attack should reflect on all Afghan nationals who assisted the United States abroad and later resettled here. The piece argued that refusing such refugees would mean abandoning wartime allies to the mercy of hostile forces once the U.S. withdraws from conflict zones. According to the board, the lives of Afghans who aided the United States have often been met with brutal reprisals, and future military efforts could be undermined if potential allies fear the U.S. will offer no path to safety.
“Some will say this means the U.S. should never admit such refugees, but the alternative is abandoning allies who assist Americans in war to the retribution of our enemies,” the editorial stated, adding that U.S. troops “will need allies on the ground to succeed” in future conflicts.
Trump Jr. was not impressed. In a fiery post on Friday morning, he accused the Journal’s editorial board of embracing policies that he believes would harm American security and culture. He called the editors “RINOs,” or Republicans in name only, and rejected the notion that the U.S. should continue accepting migrants from countries he views as fundamentally incompatible with American values.
“Give me a f***ing break,” Trump Jr. wrote. “The RINOs at the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board want us to be flooded with millions of America hating migrants who don’t share our values.”
He then broadened his criticism to include Republicans who support accepting refugees under the same policies criticized by his father. “This is a good reminder that it’s not just Democrats responsible for this – it’s the globalist RINOs too,” he posted.
Trump Jr. has long aligned himself with his father’s hardline immigration agenda. During the 2024 campaign, he repeated claims — including widely debunked ones — that portrayed certain migrant groups as security risks. He has also been floated as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, further elevating his voice within the conservative movement.
The clash with the Journal reflects a broader divide within the right. In recent months, the paper’s editorial section has stepped up critiques of parts of the conservative movement. Just weeks earlier, the board published a sharply worded op-ed condemning white nationalist Nick Fuentes and his supporters, warning that “an old political poison is growing on the new right.”
Trump Jr.’s latest comments highlight the tension between establishment conservative voices and the populist America First wing of the Republican Party — a divide likely to grow sharper as immigration once again takes center stage in national politics.
[READ MORE: AG Pam Bondi Vows to Seek Death Penalty for Afghan National Accused of Shooting National Guardsmen in D.C.]
