Karl Rove appears to have badly misjudged the political climate if he believed he could openly back a Texas Democrat this fall and escape a public rebuke from President Donald Trump.
According to RedState, the longtime GOP strategist and former adviser to President George W. Bush triggered a political firestorm after it emerged that he plans to cross party lines in the Texas Railroad Commission race, backing Democrat Jon Rosenthal over Republican nominee Bo French. President Trump responded Monday evening on Truth Social, coming down hard on Rove and signaling that open defiance of the partys populist base will not go unanswered in his second administration.
Rove, wrote Trump, is a RINO and "a stone cold loser" who has suffered from Trump Derangement Syndrome for the past decade. The president further declared that Rove is "bad for the Republican Party" after being "completely wrong so often."
The clash underscores a long-simmering divide between the old Republican establishment and the America First movement that now dominates the partys grassroots. Trumps broadside made clear that, in his view, Rove represents a failed, consultant-driven era that repeatedly squandered conservative momentum and misread the electorate.
"Karl Rove is so bad for the Republican Party, and completely wrong so often," Trump wrote, blasting the strategists record and motives. "He suffers from a major case of Trump Derangement Syndrome primarily because, for almost 10 years, I beat back and won against so many of the people and things that he wanted and espoused."
Trump then turned his fire on legacy conservative media outlets that continue to feature Rove as a commentator despite his estrangement from the partys base. "Why does FoxNews and the WSJ keep his RINO Voice alive. The guy is a stone cold loser!" the president demanded.
Tell us how you really feel, Mr. President. The message from the White House was unmistakable: Republicans who publicly side with Democrats against GOP nominees should expect political consequences.
As RedState's Kyle Becker reported Monday, Rove told attendees at a private, members-only luncheon at Austin's Headliners Club that he intends to vote for Rosenthal after French came under fire for a social media post featuring University of Texas students celebrating their team's big football win over Ohio State. The students appeared to be of South Asian heritage; French called them "foreigners."
Rove reportedly called French a "bigot" and told the gathering that Rosenthal would be getting his vote. That decision handed Democrats a talking point and gave the media a fresh opportunity to highlight Republican infighting just weeks before critical midterm contests.
President Trump's post in no way defended French, but instead was a chance for him to take aim at Rove, who has been critical of the Trump White House's handling of the midterms. Just 11 days ago, he published a Wall Street Journal column entitled, "Trump Sticks With a Losing Midterm Plan," in which he argued that Republicans in competitive races had reason to worry about the president's strategy.
Then, on Thursday, Rove was back with another column asking, "Who Will Be the Bigger Midterm Loser?" We know the president's answer to this question, and it's not "Donald Trump."
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