GOP strategist Karl Rove turns on Trump in WSJ column ahead of midterm elections
WASHINGTON, DC: Veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove wrote a critical column for The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, May 20, warning that President Trump’s declining popularity might prove harmful for the GOP in the upcoming midterms later this year.
In a column titled 'Gerrymandering Isn’t Enough for the GOP', Rove also highlighted that redistricting might not be enough for the Republicans to secure victory in the midterms.
Rove wrote, “Democrats lead on the generic congressional ballot by 6.6 points in Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin average of recent polls and by 11 in the latest New York Times/Siena survey.”
Trump's declining popularity might affect midterms results
Further analyzing the driving factor behind the GOP’s possible contracting chances, Rove said Trump’s declining approval rating might affect the party’s future prospects.
“The GOP’s chances will get worse if President Trump’s approval numbers keep declining. They’re already dangerously low. Wednesday, his approval hit 39.8% in the RealClearPolitics average, the lowest of his second term so far,” he wrote before observing that the administration’s “message discipline on the Iran war” has been lacking.
Taking on Trump’s frequent late-night online activity, Rove said that the president doesn’t behave like “a reassuring wartime commander in chief.”
“Making things worse are Mr Trump’s erratic late-night missives. The president comes across more as a heckler at a UFC match than as a reassuring wartime commander in chief,” he added.
Karl Rove says defending the WH ballroom won't get votes
As Rove continued speculating on the impacts of Trump’s various announcements, Rove said that Trump defending the White House ballroom would not convert voters, while $5-a-gallon gasoline had upset Americans.
"His announcement Monday that he was reducing healthcare costs by adding 600 generic drugs to the government’s on-line low-cost drugstore was a winner. But long after the memory of that announcement fades, voters will recall Tuesday’s news conference at the White House ballroom construction site," he wrote.
"The president promoting his $1 billion request for White House security measures won’t convert voters. Nor will bragging that ‘there will never be another building like this’, especially with Americans upset about $5-a-gallon gasoline, which Mr Trump dismissed as ‘peanuts,'” he added.
Karl Rove urges Trump to refrain from hitting campaign for candidates
As he progressed, analyzing what could be working for the GOP or whatnot, Rove said Trump should continue fundraising for candidates, but refrain from hitting the campaign trail himself to “let Republican candidates create distance from the president.”
“Let them disagree with his $1 billion ballroom and $1.8 billion slush fund that critics are concerned could go to January 6 felons,” he urged.
“The more undisciplined the White House messages on war and the economy, the more at risk GOP candidates will be. The more Mr Trump thrusts himself into the campaign, the more damage he’ll do to Republicans and his own cause,” concluded Rove.
“Gerrymandering helped Republicans. But the president’s actions are helping Democrats. That could give Democrats the House,” he added.
