Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has warned that Trump could face more divisions in the Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections, as members are “scared to death” of what’s to come.
Asked about Republican unity by host Paul Gigot on Fox News’ The Journal Editorial Report, Rove pointed to what’s causing “cracks” in the party after months of what Gigot called “remarkable discipline” enforced by President Donald Trump.
“You cannot run in a midterm election by saying, ‘Vote for us because we’ve done a great job,’” the Wall Street Journal columnist and Fox contributor said about Republican sentiment ahead of the 2026 midterms, adding that this is especially true when people “don’t feel the consequences” of the party’s enacted policies.
There are many reasons and examples from the past months suggesting why the president’s grip on the Republican Party could be waning, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene—once Trump’s MAGA princess—resigning, a vote to release the Epstein files being passed, a November election wipeout and the longest government shutdown in history, which left low-income Americans fearing for food security and many federal workers furloughed or unpaid.
Rove emphasized that, despite the president’s enthusiasm for his “One Big Beautiful Bill”—which CNN data analyst Harry Enten says is one of the most unpopular pieces of legislation to become law—the results are far from the “instantaneously positive” impact Trump boasts about, especially given his declining poll numbers.
A November Gallup poll showed that Trump’s approval rating has fallen to the lowest of his second term, dropping five points to 36 percent, while his disapproval rose to 60 percent, with ratings declining among both Republicans and independents.
“Republicans are concerned, and they need to have an agenda going into the 2026 midterms,” Rove said. “They don’t have a forward-looking agenda at this moment.”
Similar warnings about potential midterm losses for Republicans have come from others close to the party or Trump. The president’s former pollster, McLaughlin, flagged an “increasingly challenging landscape” for the GOP. At the same time, a senior House Republican allegedly told Punchbowl that “the arrogance of this White House team is off-putting to members” and that House Republicans “know they are going into the minority after the midterms.”
Rove expressed that House and Senate Republicans would rather not have their upcoming agenda ahead of the midterms “dictated to them by the White House,” acknowledging that the White House “seems to have a sense that everything needs to come from the West Wing.”
The president has been increasingly focused on foreign policy, including efforts to end the war in Ukraine—which could bring him closer to a Nobel Peace Prize—and a campaign to weaken the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which Republican Senator Rand Paul warned could erode support for the president among “America First” Republicans.
“You’ve got to have an agenda that is forward-looking,” Rove said, quoting the famous slogans by political consultant James Carville, “it’s the economy, stupid” and “don’t forget healthcare,” and emphasizing that healthcare and the economy are the issues Republicans should focus on ahead of the midterms—or they’ll be in “deep trouble.”
“What are we going to have in the way of pro-growth policies that Americans will say, ‘Yeah, that’ll make my family and my community and my financial prospects better?’” Rove added.
The advice comes at a time when healthcare charities reportedly fear that the strain from Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” could impact the most vulnerable patients unless Congress intervenes. It also comes as individuals who supported the president’s economic policies are increasingly affected by the cost-of-living crisis.
“You have to have something that members of the House and Senate come to believe in their souls is important to be done for their country, and is in tune with their principles and convictions,” Rove said about the agenda needed to raise the chances for the Republican Party to avoid losses in the upcoming midterms.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
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