Veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove: 'The public is tiring' of Trump

As 2025 draws to a close, President Donald Trump continues to suffer weak approval ratings in poll after poll. A late December Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Trump's approval rating at 39 percent, while Gallup's last tracking poll of the year shows his approval at 36 percent.

In a year-end op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal, veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove argues that Trump has a messaging problem. Rove stresses that by obsessing over trivial things, he is hurting both his presidency and his party. And the conservative strategist's warnings for Trump and the GOP are hitting a raw nerve.

"No American president has ever ruled the news cycle like Donald Trump," Rove writes. "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."

The conservative strategist continues, "This pace is also unsustainable. 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."

Trump, Rove warns the GOP, needs to do a much better job promoting his policies with voters — especially those outside of his hardcore MAGA base.

"Has the president convinced himself that he doesn't need to sell his policies and actions?," Rove says with frustration. "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'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."

Rove's frustrating with Trump is generating a great deal of discussion on X, formerly Twitter.

Former NBC/University exec Mike Sington observes, "Top Republican strategist and Fox News contributor Karl Rove absolutely rips into President Trump."

HuffPost noted Rove's warning that voters might "take out their anger" on Republicans "at the ballot box" in the 2026 midterms.

The Wall Street Journal, however, pointed out, on X, that Rove also as a warning for Democrats.

The Journal posted, "To position themselves for future elections, Democrats need to realize two things. First, bashing Trump isn’t sufficient to guarantee victory. Second, a democratic-socialist message simply won't sell in vast swaths of America, writes @KarlRove."

Karl Rove's full op-ed for The Wall Street Journal is available at this link (subscription required).