'I was offended': Karl Rove says Biden ruined inauguration by bringing up 'the racism thing'

Karl Rove is the latest Fox News personality to be "offended" after President Joe Biden decried white supremacy in his inauguration speech on Wednesday.

"Whether it's COVID, the economy or racism, why are they talking everything down?" Fox News host Bill Hemmer wondered during a segment with Rove on Thursday.

"Part of it is to lower expectations," Rove explained. "The racism thing to me is -- I was offended in the speech. I mean, I thought it was a good speech. It wasn't a great speech, but it was a good speech and it was the right speech for the moment."

"But there was a point in there where he said we're divided as a country between the people who believe in the American ideal and racism, nativism and fear," he continued. "No, no, no. We're divided as a country politically over questions of policy and direction and respect."

Rove went on to insist that the country is "united against racism and nativism."

"There are people in this country that are racists, there are people who are nativists," he admitted. "But the vast majority of Americans stand together on those issues. And that was an attempt to basically say, if you're not for me, you're part of the group that's, you know, racist and nativist and fear mongering, which I didn't think was a good note to strike."

According to the Republican strategist, Biden called out racism as a "payoff to the left of the Democratic Party."

"If everything we face as a country ultimately has a root in racism then that's what the left believes and that's what he's willing to give them," Rove remarked.

Watch the video below from Fox News.