Donald Trump criticized top Republican strategist Karl Rove on Tuesday as a "fool" and "clone" of Paul Ryan, a former GOP House speaker who has become a target of the former president's ire.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that Rove was a RINO (Republican in name only) who "is constantly on Fox News and the once great Wall Street Journal, explaining how things should be done—and he doesn't have a clue."
"People can't stand him, a clone of even more unpopular Paul Ryan, who sadly runs Fox News, now on a very bad path," Trump continued. "Rove is a DINIER of DINIERS, which makes him a fool. WATCH!"
Rove, who served as a deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to former President George W. Bush, is a contributor for Fox News and a columnist for The Wall Street Journal. In 2019, Ryan joined the board of directors for Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News and Fox Business.
Newsweek reached out to a Trump spokesperson for comment and clarification on the former president's meaning in calling Rove a "DINIER of DINIERS."
Trump's ability to maintain influence and prestige within the GOP became all the more important when he announced his 2024 presidential candidacy earlier this month, but some Republicans have issued calls for the party to move away from the controversial former president.
Though Rove and Ryan share a political party with Trump, the two appear to be at odds with him on several issues.
Rove was praised on social media in August for saying during a Fox News appearance that Trump did not have the legal authority to hold onto sensitive documents recovered during an FBI search at his Mar-a-Lago home over the summer. Trump has denied all wrongdoing in regard to the documents.
Rove had also described Trump as "a complete idiot" and "graceless and divisive" in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, according to The New York Times, spurring Trump to respond by calling him "sad" and questioning his success record.
Ryan, who has been publicly criticized by Trump, said during an interview with Fox Business host Stuart Varney on his show Varney & Co. in October that Trump would be the wrong choice as the 2024 GOP presidential nominee.
"That new swing voter in American politics is the suburban voter, and it's really clear the suburban voter doesn't like Trump, but they like Republicans," Ryan said. "So I think anybody not named Trump I think is so much more likely to win the White House for us."
"We'll want to win the White House so badly and beat the Democrats, and we know we're so much more likely to lose with Trump because of the fact that he is not popular with suburban voters that we'll want to win," Ryan added.
Trump blasted Ryan as a RINO in June and suggested that what he purported were issues with Fox News coincided with his appointment to the parent company's board.
"Did anyone notice that Fox News went lame (bad!) when weak RINO Paul Ryan, who is despised in the Great State of Wisconsin for being 'a pathetic loser,' went on the Fox Board," Trump wrote.
Newsweek reached out to Rove via the press inquiry portal on his website.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Zoe Strozewski is a Newsweek reporter based in New Jersey. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and global politics. Zoe ... Read more
