Former GOP White House official Karl Rove on Thursday warned that the Trump administration needs to get its messaging on track and stop the president's tendency towards "grotesqueries" in the time left before the midterms — "or else the president won’t like the outcome."
Rove is best known for his time as former President George W. Bush's deputy chief of staff from 2001 to 2007, and is often credited as one of the leading architects of that administration's War in Iraq. Since leaving the office, he has become a prominent GOP political analyst, known for frequent appearances on Fox News and, more recently, his criticisms of Donald Trump's unhelpful excesses.
On Thursday, Rove penned an editorial for the Wall Street Journal, warning the Trump White House that it is on the wrong track with less than 11 months left until the midterm elections. Among his arguments, Rove cited Trump's RealClearPolitics approval rating on the "No. 1 issue for voters, the economy," which sits at 40.7 percent, and his even worse 35 percent approval rating on inflation. He also criticized Trump's preferred style of rally speech, jumping from one topic to another and dropping in jokes, as unhelpful when voters want a greater focus on fixing the economy and the cost of living.
Rove also singled out Trump's controversial post about the deaths of beloved filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, with the president suggesting without evidence that his death was due to "Trump Derangement Syndrome." Rove described the comment as being "met with universal horror and revulsion" and said that it "diminished him," rather than diminishing Reiner.
All these factors, he warned, could result in a major midterm defeat for the Republican Party, which would make Trump's last years in office highly unpleasant for him.
"The presidents’ grotesqueries have to stop," Rove wrote. "His team has 10-and-a-half months before voters decide the shape of his final two years as president. Every day matters. Presidential postings like that chew up valuable time that should be spent winning over tepid supporters or persuading anyone open to voting Republican."
“It doesn’t look good for the GOP next year," he continued. "The White House is on the wrong track. It had better get its messaging right — both its formal attempts at directing the conversation and Mr. Trump’s spontaneous social-media rants. Or else the president won’t like the outcome. A furious party in revolt against its executive, who is plagued by Democratic investigations and opposition. Time’s a-wasting."