Veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove warned Republicans that the biggest threat to Donald Trump’s second-term agenda may be Trump himself, because the electorate is growing sick and tired of his antics.
In a year-end Wall Street Journal opinion column published Dec. 30, Rove wrote that Trump’s “unrelenting” pace has flooded the political ecosystem with “fluff” and grievance, leaving the public numb to even consequential developments.
He said: “No American president has ever ruled the news cycle like Donald Trump. He’s omnipresent, completely dominating coverage, constantly in front of cameras and inundating us with round-the-clock Truth Social posts.
“His pace is unrelenting. He throws at reporters so much fluff—personal asides, fulminations about adversaries real and imagined, commentary on culture and self-congratulation—that the press and public often ignore important things.”
Entering the year of the midterms, Rove, 75, argued that “there are signs that the public is tiring of his hyperbole and insatiable desire for retribution,” predicting that many Americans will increasingly hear only “the offensive or cruel things he says.”
He added: “He’s gone way too far by slapping his name on buildings (the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts) and government programs (the Navy’s “Trump-class” battleship). He might receive a fawning reaction from his MAGA base, but the average American finds such narcissism off-putting.”
The 75-year-old framed the problem as one of persuasion and discipline. He suggested Trump, 79, would be better served explaining the rationale for his moves and asking for patience, rather than overpromising, self-congratulating, and leaning into fights designed to thrill MAGA diehards while alienating everyone else.
“Americans would be much more likely to support Mr. Trump if he explained what he’s doing and asked for patience as his administration makes necessary changes. But that isn’t his way,” Rove said.
“Presidents do best when they underpromise and overdeliver. The opposite—overpromising and underdelivering—angers voters. They often take out their anger at the ballot box.”
Given his esteemed political history, Rove’s views matter. He was George W. Bush’s senior adviser and deputy chief of staff, and has spent decades shaping Republican strategy, messaging, and turnout.
His grave warning comes as multiple data points suggest a ceiling on Trump’s support beyond his base. A mid-December AP-NORC poll put Trump’s overall approval at 36 percent and found only 31 percent approving of his handling of the economy—his lowest mark on that issue across both presidencies.
A separate Gallup survey just before Christmas also pegged Trump’s approval at 36 percent, describing it as a second-term low in that series.
And in a Daily Mail/JL Partners survey of 1,000 registered voters conducted Dec. 20–21, released Tuesday, 36 percent said they had come to view Trump more negatively than weeks earlier, compared with 28 percent who said they viewed him more positively.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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