Republican strategist Karl Rove broke down why former President Donald Trump "should be concerned" about primary results after Super Tuesday, noting that while it was indeed a “strong night" for Trump, the Trump campaign should not discount robust support for his GOP rival Nikki Haley.
Rove underscored this point when he held up a clipboard during an appearance on Fox News that highlighted Haley's performance among voters in states like Virginia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Maine.
He said:
"The high command of Team Trump ought to be concerned about unifying the Republican Party.”
“As we see in these states, a third of the vote in Virginia; 43% of the vote in Massachusetts going to Nikki Haley; a quarter of the vote in North Carolina; Maine is now dropped down to about a quarter of the vote, but it was 31% for Nikki Haley; Vermont 48%."
Rove also stressed the importance of the work that needs "to be done to unify the Republican Party," noting that the likehood of this happening will "depend a lot on [Trump's] tone tonight and whether or not he stops doing things like calling [Haley] “Bird Brain” and threatening that if you give money to her campaign you’re going to be permanently banned, and we’ll see how he does tonight."
He concluded:
"[Trump] 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 and he’s gonna set an important tone for either a unified Republican Party or a divided Republican Party."
Many concurred with Rove's assessment, noting how Trump's performance does not necessarily translate into support from Republicans at large.
Exit polls from key states on Super Tuesday indicate that Trump may face challenges in winning over Nikki Haley's voters. A poll cited by CNN revealed that more than three-quarters of Haley supporters were not committed to voting for the likely GOP nominee in November.
Trump, in response to Rove's comments, took to Truth Social to call on Fox News to stop airing the political commentator, saying his "record on Endorsements is unmatched by anyone, EVER!" and adding that the network should "Put on people who understand what is going on in politics."
