‘Self-Destructive’: Karl Rove Warns Trump Against ‘Out of Touch’ Victory Laps
LEFT: Donald Trump RIGHT: Karl Rove
Legendary GOP operative Karl Rove warned President Donald Trump against taking “out of touch” and “self-destructive” victory laps in a new column for The Wall Street Journal.
Framed as an evaluation of the two major parties’ chances in the 2026 midterms, Rove’s piece bore the sub-headline “Republicans count on money, Democrats on history. Trump will be a wild card.”
After observing Republicans’ advantage in fundraising as well as the composition of the Senate map, Rove also noted that Trump’s relative unpopularity and voters’ tendency to back the party that doesn’t control the White House in the midterms.
“Democrats could also benefit from missteps by Republicans,” wrote Rove, who knocked Trump for failing to highlight his success at the southern border while also “grabbing undocumented people indiscriminately.”
Then, he articulated his most pressing concern with Trump’s political strategy:
On economics, Team Trump is making the same mistake as the last administration. President Biden and big-name Democrats went across America proclaiming “Bidenomics is working.” People felt the opposite.
The danger for Mr. Trump is he’s addicted to superlatives and self-congratulations and prone to declaring premature success. “Our economy is booming,” he posted Tuesday. The White House web site recently declared: “Economic growth shatters expectations as President Trump fuels America’s Golden Age.” An aide claims it’s all “working beautifully.”
Except it isn’t. While Republicans generally agree with the president’s depiction of things, independents don’t. They are deeply concerned about tariffs, debt and prices. This leaves the president’s approval on the economy at 42.5% in the RealClearPolitics average. On inflation, it’s 39.3%, and 53.3% believe America is going in the wrong direction.
“Team Trump would be smarter to underpromise and overdeliver, especially since righting the economy will take time. It’s self-destructive for Republicans to make over-the-top claims,” Rove said.
He concluded: “How voters feel about their own circumstances will hugely influence next year’s outcome. Seeming out of touch could make the midterms even harder.”
