According to one longtime Republican strategist, President Donald Trump's apparent inability to focus on substantive policy issues rather than culture war fodderAccording to one longtime Republican strategist, President Donald Trump's apparent inability to focus on substantive policy issues rather than culture war fodder

Trump wasting time on 'frivolities' while his voters abandon him: GOP strategist

2026/02/12 10:51
3 min read

According to one longtime Republican strategist, President Donald Trump's apparent inability to focus on substantive policy issues rather than culture war fodder could be the final nail in the coffin for Republicans' majorities in one or both chambers of Congress this fall.

In a Wednesday op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove — who was a senior advisor to former President George W. Bush — predicted that Democrats would win control of the House of Representatives in November. He observed that the chances are extremely slim his party holds onto the House, pointing out that sitting presidents have only added to their majorities in 1998 and 2002, when Presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush enjoyed more than 60 percent approval, and in 1934, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was immensely popular.

The veteran Republican operative also noted that Democrats only need to flip three seats, since House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) only has a razor-thin 218-214 majority to work with (and is now even urging Republicans to postpone their retirement announcements). Rove argued that Johnson's job isn't made any easier by Trump, who he argued is unable to exercise message discipline.

"Democrats want this election to be a referendum on Mr. Trump. So they’re happy for him to fill his days attacking the Super Bowl halftime show, posting a map showing Greenland, Canada and Venezuela as American possessions or trashing a U.S. Olympic athlete on Truth Social," Rove wrote. "Every moment he spends on such frivolities is a missed opportunity to advance his cause."

Rove reminded readers that during Trump's first term, Democrats won 41 seats in the 2018 midterms, after which then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) "spent the next two years bedeviling Mr. Trump." He wrote that, like 2018, Democrats could once again win back the House by running on healthcare. While Democrats in Trump's first term seized on voter anger over Republicans' failed attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Democrats in 2026 are already attacking Republicans for failing to extend ACA tax credits – causing their constituents health insurance premiums to significantly increase.

In his op-ed, Rove lamented that Republicans may ultimately be doomed if Trump puts himself front-and-center in the months leading up to the midterms. He asserted that the GOP may fare better at the polls provided Trump is able to "restrain himself, act presidential, deliver results and create constructive change."

"His choice will have a profound impact on the election’s outcome," he wrote.

  • george conway
  • noam chomsky
  • civil war
  • Kayleigh mcenany
  • Melania trump
  • drudge report
  • paul krugman
  • Lindsey graham
  • Lincoln project
  • al franken bill maher
  • People of praise
  • Ivanka trump
  • eric trump
Market Opportunity
OFFICIAL TRUMP Logo
OFFICIAL TRUMP Price(TRUMP)
$3.329
$3.329$3.329
+6.15%
USD
OFFICIAL TRUMP (TRUMP) Live Price Chart
Disclaimer: The articles reposted on this site are sourced from public platforms and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect the views of MEXC. All rights remain with the original authors. If you believe any content infringes on third-party rights, please contact service@support.mexc.com for removal. MEXC makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the content and is not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided. The content does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice, nor should it be considered a recommendation or endorsement by MEXC.

You May Also Like

Google's AP2 protocol has been released. Does encrypted AI still have a chance?

Google's AP2 protocol has been released. Does encrypted AI still have a chance?

Following the MCP and A2A protocols, the AI Agent market has seen another blockbuster arrival: the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), developed by Google. This will clearly further enhance AI Agents' autonomous multi-tasking capabilities, but the unfortunate reality is that it has little to do with web3AI. Let's take a closer look: What problem does AP2 solve? Simply put, the MCP protocol is like a universal hook, enabling AI agents to connect to various external tools and data sources; A2A is a team collaboration communication protocol that allows multiple AI agents to cooperate with each other to complete complex tasks; AP2 completes the last piece of the puzzle - payment capability. In other words, MCP opens up connectivity, A2A promotes collaboration efficiency, and AP2 achieves value exchange. The arrival of AP2 truly injects "soul" into the autonomous collaboration and task execution of Multi-Agents. Imagine AI Agents connecting Qunar, Meituan, and Didi to complete the booking of flights, hotels, and car rentals, but then getting stuck at the point of "self-payment." What's the point of all that multitasking? So, remember this: AP2 is an extension of MCP+A2A, solving the last mile problem of AI Agent automated execution. What are the technical highlights of AP2? The core innovation of AP2 is the Mandates mechanism, which is divided into real-time authorization mode and delegated authorization mode. Real-time authorization is easy to understand. The AI Agent finds the product and shows it to you. The operation can only be performed after the user signs. Delegated authorization requires the user to set rules in advance, such as only buying the iPhone 17 when the price drops to 5,000. The AI Agent monitors the trigger conditions and executes automatically. The implementation logic is cryptographically signed using Verifiable Credentials (VCs). Users can set complex commission conditions, including price ranges, time limits, and payment method priorities, forming a tamper-proof digital contract. Once signed, the AI Agent executes according to the conditions, with VCs ensuring auditability and security at every step. Of particular note is the "A2A x402" extension, a technical component developed by Google specifically for crypto payments, developed in collaboration with Coinbase and the Ethereum Foundation. This extension enables AI Agents to seamlessly process stablecoins, ETH, and other blockchain assets, supporting native payment scenarios within the Web3 ecosystem. What kind of imagination space can AP2 bring? After analyzing the technical principles, do you think that's it? Yes, in fact, the AP2 is boring when it is disassembled alone. Its real charm lies in connecting and opening up the "MCP+A2A+AP2" technology stack, completely opening up the complete link of AI Agent's autonomous analysis+execution+payment. From now on, AI Agents can open up many application scenarios. For example, AI Agents for stock investment and financial management can help us monitor the market 24/7 and conduct independent transactions. Enterprise procurement AI Agents can automatically replenish and renew without human intervention. AP2's complementary payment capabilities will further expand the penetration of the Agent-to-Agent economy into more scenarios. Google obviously understands that after the technical framework is established, the ecological implementation must be relied upon, so it has brought in more than 60 partners to develop it, almost covering the entire payment and business ecosystem. Interestingly, it also involves major Crypto players such as Ethereum, Coinbase, MetaMask, and Sui. Combined with the current trend of currency and stock integration, the imagination space has been doubled. Is web3 AI really dead? Not entirely. Google's AP2 looks complete, but it only achieves technical compatibility with Crypto payments. It can only be regarded as an extension of the traditional authorization framework and belongs to the category of automated execution. There is a "paradigm" difference between it and the autonomous asset management pursued by pure Crypto native solutions. The Crypto-native solutions under exploration are taking the "decentralized custody + on-chain verification" route, including AI Agent autonomous asset management, AI Agent autonomous transactions (DeFAI), AI Agent digital identity and on-chain reputation system (ERC-8004...), AI Agent on-chain governance DAO framework, AI Agent NPC and digital avatars, and many other interesting and fun directions. Ultimately, once users get used to AI Agent payments in traditional fields, their acceptance of AI Agents autonomously owning digital assets will also increase. And for those scenarios that AP2 cannot reach, such as anonymous transactions, censorship-resistant payments, and decentralized asset management, there will always be a time for crypto-native solutions to show their strength? The two are more likely to be complementary rather than competitive, but to be honest, the key technological advancements behind AI Agents currently all come from web2AI, and web3AI still needs to keep up the good work!
Share
PANews2025/09/18 07:00
Token Terminal Taps LayerZero to Provide Institutional-Level On-Chain Data Transparency

Token Terminal Taps LayerZero to Provide Institutional-Level On-Chain Data Transparency

Token Terminal, a prominent platform for on-chain analytics and data, has partnered with LayerZero, a cross-chain interoperability network. The partnership aim
Share
Coinstats2026/02/12 17:30
Will the "red envelope rally" of Bitcoin during the Lunar New Year repeat itself this year?

Will the "red envelope rally" of Bitcoin during the Lunar New Year repeat itself this year?

Looking back at the past Spring Festival market trends, Bitcoin has almost always risen during the Spring Festival – from 2015 to 2024, it recorded positive returns
Share
PANews2026/02/12 17:12