'Rue the day': Karl Rove says Trump paving way for Dems to pursue their own 'retribution'

Legendary Republican strategist Karl Rove says America is “already exhausted” of President Donald Trump only 100 days into his second term.

Rove, one of the architects of the $3 trillion Iraq War, observed in a recent Wall Street Journal essay that Trump won last year on a stated goal of lowering prices and improving the economy, but what he’s delivered is trade war, international and domestic market instability, along with a litany of unrequested objectives. Some of these unwanted ideas “concocted on the fly” include the “Department of Government Efficiency and removing fluoride from drinking water.”

Rove criticized the effectiveness of Trump’s over-the-top use of executive orders over traditional legislation because the next president can dismantle each order with an announcement.

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“And there’s something shocking about this White House to an old-school politico like me: It doesn’t spend much time drawing attention to the president’s successes. Rather than patiently explaining his actions and why they’re good for Americans, the president and his advisers move from one thing to another, seemingly at random,” said Rove, the former deputy chief of staff for George W. Bush and a protégé of Lee Atwater.

He also noted Trump’s vengeful nature: “There’s way too much retribution. Most of the president’s revenge attempts will end badly for him. … Republicans could rue the day they set a new justification for retaliation from Democrats.”

The proof is in the polling, said Rove. Trump began his term with 50.5 percent approving, 44.3 percent disapproving in the RealClearPolitics polling average a week after he was sworn in, he says, but those same poll numbers went upside down by mid-March and two days ago represented a nearly 10-point margin shift in the wrong direction.

“My hunch is things will get worse before they get better,” Rove warned.

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Read Rove's full Wall Street Journal essay here (subscription required).