Karl Rove, the Republican strategist behind George W. Bush's two presidential wins, said Saturday that his party is making a mistake by building its midterm campaign around President Donald Trump. He also did an impression of the president to make fun of one of Trump's latest promises.
Rove was speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin in a session C-SPAN aired and clipped. He criticized the GOP for putting Trump front and center this fall.
"A president in a year like this ought to recede as a political figure and grow as a presidential figure," Rove said.
He didn't expect Trump to do that.
"It's hard for him to do that. He likes to do it the other way around," Rove said.
Rove then went after Trump's recent convention speech. He put on a Trump voice to mimic the president's pitch for a "$5,000 Trump dividend."
His remarks cut against Trump's own message to Republicans. Trump has told his party to campaign as if he's on the ballot, even though his approval ratings are at record lows. Some vulnerable Republicans have started keeping their distance. Rep. Byron Donalds' campaign for Florida governor removed most mentions of Trump's endorsement from its website, though Trump insisted Saturday that the reports were "Fake."
According to the Texas Tribune, Rove's session also covered comments by Bo French and the U.S. Senate race in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico is facing Republican Ken Paxton.
Rove served as Bush's senior adviser and deputy chief of staff. He has been a sharp critic of Trump at times and a supporter at others, and he now appears as a commentator on Fox News.