Veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove criticized President Trump's record-breaking 108-minute State of the Union address, saying he committed a "key mistake" by squandering early goodwill. While Trump's speech initially dazzled Republicans by honoring Olympic hockey heroes and Medal of Freedom recipients, Rove wrote in the Wall Street Journal that Trump undermined this momentum by attacking Democrats as "sick people" and "crazy" who are "destroying our country." Trump demanded Democrats stand and applaud him while attacking his predecessor by name. Rove warned that while the speech energized Trump's MAGA base, it won't prevent a midterm "shellacking," noting Trump's approval rating has dropped nearly 8 points since taking office. He criticized the address as sounding like a "political convention speech" rather than a State of the Union, characterizing it as angry and pugnacious. Rove urged Republicans to focus on substance and empathy on the economy.
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