N.Y. Times: Trump rise 'carries a grim lesson' for Democrats

The Washington Examiner reports:

The liberal New York Times editorial board cautioned Democrats against the impulse to "gloat" about the apparent chaos taking place in the Republican primary, as Donald Trump upends the party's leadership and orthodoxy.

The paper said Tuesday night that Trump's status as the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination should serve as a warning for Democratic "elites" who have become complacent with their support among certain demographic groups.

"Democrats would be foolish to gloat about this GOP mess," said the Times. "The Democratic Party has also been caught by surprise by the anger of middle-class voters it thought it could rely on, even while failing to move meaningful legislation on college affordability, gun control, the minimum wage and better care for veterans."

Trump's popularity caught many longtime Republicans off-guard when he catapulted to the top of national polls while dimissing much of the party's platform, which included an effort to adopt a softer tone on illegal immigration and a push for cuts to federal entitlement programs.

Lessons.