He opposed the liberalism of the New Deal, but he supported Franklin Roosevelt's foreign policy and supported the Lend-Lease program on March 8, 1941, in spite of overwhelmingly negative letters from his constituents. The change in sentiment was best illustrated by the editorial pages of the Fairmont "Daily Sentinel", as quoted in an article in "The New Republic". When he had first been appointed, the "Sentinel" ran an editorial with the headline, "Joe Ball for U.S. Senator! Good God!"; upon Ball's re-election, the "Sentinel" ran another editorial entitled "Joe Ball for U.S. Senator! Thank God!"