Republican strategist Karl Rove on Monday said Americans are tiring of President Trump’s whirlwind of retribution and offensive comments as his first year back in office draws to a close.
“There are signs that the public is tiring of his hyperbole and insatiable desire for retribution. Increasingly, they may hear only the offensive or cruel things he says,” Rove wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.
“Has the president convinced himself that he doesn’t need to sell his policies and actions? It appears that he believes he can will people into agreeing with him by claiming his achievements are the biggest, best and most amazing in American history,” he added.
The former top adviser to former President George W. Bush has regularly criticized Trump’s style and policy, but he said the White House could win over voters with a more disciplined messaging strategy from the president.
“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 wrote.
“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,” he continued.
Poll numbers have echoed Rove’s remarks, showing support for Trump waning in recent weeks as affordability tops voter concerns heading into next year’s midterms.
Rove said the president is also facing the consequences of his administration’s failure to provide answers to conspiracy theories that Trump officials fueled surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Many people feel the need to place him at the center of a worldwide conspiracy of wealthy, powerful people,” Rove wrote of Epstein.
“These co-conspirators murdered him in jail, it’s said, because of the threat he posed to them. Mr. Trump’s failure to deliver the goods on this vast plot has undermined his followers’ confidence in his Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation,” he added.
Rove said Trump’s time would be better spent touting his efforts to keep America out of wars, increasing employment and moving the needle on inflation below 3 percent.
