Donald Trump is fuming again, this time at one of the Republican Party’s most recognizable old guards, Karl Rove. The president unleashed a fiery rant on Truth Social on Wednesday after Rove, appearing on Fox & Friends, failed to credit him for what Trump called the GOP’s “tremendous success.”
Rove, a former senior advisor to President George W. Bush and widely known as the “architect” of the Bush era, was asked to explain the party’s recent surge in membership numbers. While he praised Republicans’ momentum and Democrats’ decline, he never once mentioned Trump by name. That was all it took for the 79-year-old president to blow a gasket.
Trump responds to Karl Rove refusing to credit him for the success of the Republican Party pic.twitter.com/1CPFiQBK2M
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) August 27, 2025
“RINO Karl Rove, when asked on Fox & Friends this morning how to explain the tremendous success of the Republican Party, with millions of people joining it, and the Dems losing millions, was unable to give an answer,” Trump raged. “He just couldn’t utter the words, President Donald J. Trump! But that’s OK, the people get it, and always have!”
Calling Rove a “Republican in name only,” Trump suggested the veteran strategist was deliberately slighting him, refusing to give credit where he believes it’s due. To Trump, the loyalty test is simple: if you won’t say his name, you’re on the wrong side of history.
The Trump-Rove feud is hardly new. Their bad blood stretches back more than a decade, with Trump once reportedly branding Rove a “dope” in 2010. Over the years, the insults only escalated. In 2021, Trump blasted him as a “pompous fool with bad advice.” Earlier this year, he upgraded the insult to “total loser.”
🚨Karl Rove claims that President Trump’s effort to redo the census to exclude illegals won’t happen because it’s “too complicated.”
“This involves knocking on the door.” pic.twitter.com/d1yakZNuQi
— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) August 7, 2025
For his part, Rove hasn’t exactly kept quiet. A fixture on Fox News and in conservative commentary circles, he’s often taken aim at Trump’s leadership style and policies, even warning Republicans that clinging too tightly to Trump could backfire at the ballot box. Before Trump shocked the political world in 2016, Rove frequently dismissed his chances, and even after his win, he continued to criticize his governing approach.
Still, Trump’s latest attack shows just how sensitive he is about credit. In his telling, he alone is responsible for reshaping the GOP into a powerhouse, bringing millions of disaffected voters into the fold and driving Democratic defections. The fact that a party veteran like Rove won’t acknowledge that is, in Trump’s eyes, pure betrayal.
The spat also illustrates a larger rift inside the Republican Party. Trump, who commands loyalty from the base, has no patience for old-school strategists like Rove who built their careers in the Bush years. Rove, meanwhile, represents the institutional wing of the GOP, the traditional donor class and political operatives who often roll their eyes at Trump’s bombast but can’t ignore his hold on voters.
Trump has made it clear that praise isn’t optional; it’s a requirement. Whether it’s Fox News pundits, fellow Republicans, or party elders, he demands his due. Karl Rove just happens to be the latest target of his wrath, and judging by history, he won’t be the last.
