Rove says Trump Team ‘ought to be concerned’ after Super Tuesday

Republican strategist Karl Rove said former President Trump’s campaign “ought to be concerned” about unifying the Republican party, pointing to robust support for Republican candidate Nikki Haley’s candidacy on Super Tuesday.

Rove called Super Tuesday a “strong night for Donald Trump” in an interview on Fox News, and described the former president’s campaign estimation that he would win a sufficient number of delegates to clinch the GOP nomination by later this month as “probably accurate.”

“Having said that, the high command of Team Trump ought to be concerned about unifying the Republican Party,” added Rove, a former top aide to former President George W. Bush.

His comments came just before Trump gave remarks Tuesday evening, the day before sources told The Hill that Haley would suspend her campaign following significant losses in the early primary contests.

Rove, ahead of Trump’s speech, said the GOP front-runner’s tone following his wins would be significant for the party going forward.

“There’s still some work to be done to unify the Republican Party, and that’s going to depend a lot on his tone tonight and whether or not he stops doing things like calling her ‘birdbrain’ and threatening that if you give money to her campaign, you’re gonna be permanently banned. And we’ll see how he does tonight,” he said in the interview, highlighted by Mediaite.

“He did well in Iowa, with his victory statement — unifying, humble, gracious — not so good in New Hampshire. And tonight is going to be the big night,” Rove, who is a contributor to Fox News, continued. “And he’s going to set an important tone for either a unified Republican party or a divided Republican Party.”

Exit polls from key states on Super Tuesday support Rove’s assertion that Trump has work to do to bring her voters into his camp. In one poll, cited by CNN, more than three-quarters of Haley supporters said they would not commit to voting for the likely GOP nominee in November.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump took aim at Rove, calling on Fox News to stop airing the political commentator.

“My record on Endorsements is unmatched by anyone, EVER! Put on people who understand what is going on in politics…And while you’re at it, GET RID OF KARL ROVE!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for a response.