Longtime political strategist Karl Rove is warning Republicans not to nominate a presidential candidate that reflects the same “populist anger” that gave birth to the rise of Donald Trump.
In his latest op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Rove explained the GOP will have two choices when delegates gather in Cleveland, Ohio, next July to determine which remaining Republican hopeful they wish to see challenge Democrats in the general election.
“Will the party choose a nominee with a conservative agenda or one reflecting populist anger?” Rove wrote.
“The two are hardly the same,” he noted. “Conservative principles provide a winning path to the White House. Populist outrage alone will end in defeat.”
The bit of advice comes at the bottom of Rove’s latest takedown of Trump, which illustrates the Republican front-runner’s shortage of details on a handful of proposals that have become central to his campaign: the wall along the Southern border, “TrumpCare,” and the deportation of 11 million illegal immigrants.
“There are already huge gaps between what Mr. Trump says and reality,” Rove wrote. “Mr. Trump has proven he can do outrageous. But soon Mr. Trump must demonstrate that which he has so far avoided: substance.”
The former senior adviser to President George W. Bush has made no secret of his distaste for Trump, who, presumably, is the reason for Rove’s warning. The billionaire businessman reached a new high for voter support earlier this week despite recent speculations that his poll numbers would plateau, and has hired nearly a dozen new staffers so far this month to oversee his ground operations in several early voting and key battleground states.
Rove’s column comes just one day after a new ABC News/Washington Post poll found 42 percent of Republican voters now expect Trump will win their party’s nomination.
