WaPo After Meeting Trump: His Presidency Would Pose ‘Radical Risk’

After spending more than a hour Monday talking policy with Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, the Washington Post editorial board concluded that his election would be “dangerous” for the United States.

“His answers left little doubt how radical a risk the nation would be taking in entrusting the White House to him,” the board wrote in an editorial published Monday night.

The wide-ranging conversation touched on Trump’s expressed skepticism towards human-caused global warming, his plan to eradicate poverty by improving the “spirit” of inner-city residents, and his stated intention to make it easier to sue the press for libel.

According to the board, Trump’s “breezy willingness to ignore facts and evidence” and lack of concrete policies posed the greatest to the country.

“An empty policy basket makes almost impossible the kind of substantive debate on which democracies depend,” the editors wrote. “And while it is true that ambiguity sometimes can be useful in diplomacy, a lack of clarity also can be dangerous, enticing rivals to be aggressive and allies to seek new friends.”

According to deputy opinion editor Karen Attiah, Trump called her “beautiful” at the conclusion of the meeting after she pushed him to answer for the disparaging comments about minorities that he has made on the campaign trail.

The newspaper posted the transcript and audio recording of the conversation online in the interest of transparency, given that Trump has criticized the paper for unfair treatment. In January, he threatened to sue a Washington Post reporter for writing a story about the bankruptcy of one of his Atlantic City casinos.