Karl Rove Asks if Trump Is ‘Trying to Lose the Midterms’ in Scorching Takedown

LEFT: Donald Trump (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) RIGHT: Karl Rove (screenshot)

Legendary GOP operative Karl Rove asked a provocative question in the headline of his latest Wall Street Journal column: “Is Trump Trying to Lose the Midterms?”

“A year ago Tuesday, Donald Trump was sworn in for a second time as president. It’s been a year of rapid movement, controversy and upheaval. It’s also been utterly mystifying,” began Rove. “Why does the president keep doing things that are against his political self-interest? Why has he ignored the reality that the midterms will be decided not only by how much his base is energized but by whether Republicans carry independents and soft partisans? Mr. Trump is missing chances to draw critical swing voters the GOP’s way. He could be driving some to vote Democratic.”

Rove went on to take issue with Trump’s approach on a wide variety of issues and messaging strategies. He wondered at Trump’s failure to “take a victory lap” at the southern border. He marveled at Trump’s persistence in pursuing a “political loser” by insisting that “Denmark must surrender Greenland.”

“That isn’t even the most unhinged moment from the first year of Trump 2.0,” argued Rove. “Remember ‘Liberation Day’ last April? He levied tariffs willy-nilly, even on places with which we have trade surpluses or no trade. For months, the president has attacked the Federal Reserve’s independence to set interest rates, roiling markets. He pardoned all the criminals who assaulted Capitol police on Jan. 6, 2021. He called voters’ affordability concerns a ‘hoax,’ then moments later claimed he’d address them.”

“The Trump presidency wasn’t normal even in his first term, but something is different now. Americans are increasingly unnerved by the president’s rambling appearances and late-night screeds. Whether it’s age or advisers who can’t check his worst instincts, Mr. Trump is acting in ways no American president has,” concluded the architect of George W. Bush’s successful White House campaigns. “If his team can’t turn things around, he’ll help defeat his party this fall and damage the country for years.”

On Fox News last weekend, Rove warned that even Texas was souring on the GOP, specifically citing the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement.

“You can just see the support for Republicans in Texas diminishing, despite the fact that initially there was enormous support for the action in securing the border,” he observed last Saturday.

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