Veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove warned that President Donald Trump’s “erratic” messaging on the Iran war and his dismissive attitude toward economic hardship is hurting Republicans’ midterm prospects.
In a new Wall Street Journal column, Rove argued that redistricting efforts alone will not be enough to save Republicans, cautioning that Democrats are positioned to reclaim control of the House come November.
As evidence, Rove pointed to polling that shows Democrats leading on the generic congressional ballot – one recent poll showed Democrats up 50 percent to 39 percent in a poll against a generic Republican candidate. He also cited the 79-year-old president’s “dangerously low” approval rating — which currently stands at 39 percent, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
Rove, who served as a top adviser to George W. Bush, then outlined steps to reverse course — centered on limiting the president’s political footprint. Namely, he wrote, Trump should be reined in by aides and ditched by Republicans on the campaign trail.
“To start, [the GOP] needs better White House message discipline on the Iran war,” the Fox News contributor wrote. “The military’s execution has been extremely impressive but must be explained in a sustained and ear- and eye-catching way.”
Multiple recent polls indicate the conflict is deeply unpopular among Americans. In a Siena College survey released this week, 64 percent of respondents said Trump made the wrong decision going to war in the Middle East.
“Making things worse are Mr. Trump’s erratic late-night missives,” Rove continued. “The president comes across more as a heckler at a UFC match than as a reassuring wartime commander in chief.”
Trump’s messaging on domestic issues has not proven any better, Rove argued.
He pointed to the president’s apparent obsession with his White House ballroom, which is currently under construction where the East Wing once stood.
The president initially promised the event space would cost $200 million, all paid for by private donors. That figure later doubled. And now, the White House is asking Congress for $1 billion in security funding for the site. The request, balked at by some Republicans, faced setbacks this week.
“The president’s promoting his $1 billion request for White House ‘security measures’ won’t convert voters,” Rove wrote. “Nor will bragging that ‘there will never be another building like this.’”
Adding fuel to the fire, the billionaire president has repeatedly dismissed soaring gasoline prices — a result of the ongoing Iran war — as inconsequential, Rove wrote. When asked about the impact of the Middle East war last week, Trump told reporters: “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.”
In light of this counterproductive messaging, Rove offered blunt advice: Republicans facing reelection should not hesitate to break with Trump.
“Probably the hardest thing Team Trump needs to do is let Republican candidates create distance from the president,” the GOP strategist wrote. “Let candidates put forth their own ideas for lowering costs, cutting waste or reducing regulation, without waiting for presidential permission.”
Once a staunch supporter of Bush’s war in Iraq, Rove has repeatedly offered his advice to the president over the years, though it has not always been well received.
“I don’t need to have Karl Rove of Fox News to tell me what to do,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last May. “The guy’s a total Loser who’s been wrong about almost everything!”