In a stark warning to the White House, veteran Republican strategist Karl Rove has cautioned that President Donald Trump is steering his party towards a catastrophic defeat in the 2026 midterm elections. Rove issued the dire prediction in a column for The Wall Street Journal, arguing that the administration's current trajectory could result in losses that will define the remainder of Trump's presidency.
A Dire Warning From Within the Party
Rove's column, pointedly titled "Alarm Bells Ring, Are You Listening?", was published on Friday, 19 December 2025. He contends that the Trump administration is repeating the very errors that doomed his predecessor, Joe Biden. Rove specifically highlighted the president's persistently low approval ratings and a recent, unfocused speech on the economy delivered at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Drawing a direct parallel to the Biden era, Rove wrote, "Mr Biden and his allies looked disconnected from reality when they proclaimed ‘Bidenomics is working’ even as ordinary Americans struggled with inflation. Telling voters not to believe their own lying checkbooks was politically insane. Mr. Trump is doing the same thing." This, he suggests, is creating a dangerous perception of being out of touch with the economic realities facing voters.
The 'Grotesque' Comments on Rob Reiner
A significant portion of Rove's critique focused on President Trump's controversial response to the tragic death of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner. The couple was allegedly stabbed to death by their son.
The day after their deaths, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to state that Reiner "passed away reportedly due to the anger he caused others through... a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME." He added that the director was "known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump."
Rove condemned these remarks, stating they were met with "universal horror and revulsion." He argued that the comments did not diminish the victims but instead diminished the president himself. "The adage, 'if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all' is especially true when the subjects are a treasured elderly couple stabbed to death (allegedly) by their son," Rove added, concluding firmly that "Mr. Trump’s grotesqueries have to stop."
The backlash was notably bipartisan, with even typically pro-Trump, inflammatory voices like commentators Nick Fuentes and Matt Walsh, and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, criticising the president's statement.
The Countdown to the 2026 Midterms
Rove emphasised that time is running out for the Republican Party to correct course. He noted that the GOP has less than 11 months before voters head to the polls, decisions that will determine the shape of Trump's final two years in office.
"It doesn’t look good for the GOP next year. The White House is on the wrong track," Rove warned. "It had better get its messaging right — both its formal attempts at directing the conversation and Mr. Trump’s spontaneous social-media rants. Or else the president won’t like the outcome."
He painted a grim picture of the potential future: a party in open revolt against its leader, who is simultaneously plagued by Democratic-led investigations. "A furious party in revolt against its executive, who is plagued by Democratic investigations and opposition. Time’s a-wasting," Rove concluded, signalling an urgent need for a strategic shift to avoid what he fears could become an electoral "bloodbath" in 2026.
