Karl Rove Baffled by Trump’s Comments on Sen. Jon Husted’s “Posterior”

Longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove says he has been left scratching his head over President Donald Trump’s repeated focus on the “posterior” and athletic looks of one Republican senator.

Appearing Thursday on “The Brian Kilmeade Show” for a discussion about the midterm elections, Rove offered some criticism of Trump’s heavy rally schedule, arguing that Republicans and the president have at times been unfocused in their messaging.

To make his point, Rove pointed to Trump’s odd comments about Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, remarks that have even drawn some light mockery from the vice president.

“I’d feel a lot better if there was a deliberate strategy where they said, look, this is the message we’re going to deliver and we’re gonna deliver this message so that nothing else gets covered. But he goes off and starts talking about the posterior of Sen. Jon Husted and I’m thinking, what kind of a message is that?” a perplexed Rove said.

KILMEADE ASKS ABOUT BUSH

Kilmeade appeared amused by Trump’s “unorthodox” approach and jokingly asked whether former President George W. Bush, whom Rove served at the White House, would ever take a similar tack.

“No! No! I mean, what you want to have when you plan these events, you want to know the message,” Rove replied.

Kilmeade argued that Trump’s point in talking about Husted’s “a*s” was to sell voters on the idea that the senator is a strong “athlete.”
Rove wasn’t buying it.

“Promise me this, you’re never going to comment adversely, favorably on my posterior. It’s just weird. It’s just weird! Come on! The president of the United States [says], he’s got a great a*s. I mean, please!” Rove told Kilmeade.

TRUMP’S REPEATED REMARKS

The comments Rove referenced are not a one-off. Trump has spoken multiple times about Husted’s looks, and earlier this month he said he had “examined” the senator’s body.

“I looked at his a*s and I looked at the whole – and then I looked at his hands. Look at his hands. He’s got these, like, claws. And I got it. You are a great athlete. I didn’t know that because he doesn’t talk about that. Congratulations. Now, they finally know. That was very good,” the president said at a rally.

A QUESTION OF MESSAGE DISCIPLINE

For Rove, the issue comes down to strategy. The veteran GOP operative made clear during the interview that he believes campaign events should be built around a deliberate, focused message, one delivered consistently enough that nothing else gets covered.

In his view, Trump’s remarks about Husted cut against that goal, serving as an example of the kind of off-message moments he believes have left Republicans and the president unfocused as the midterm elections approach.

While Kilmeade framed the president’s comments as a way of highlighting Husted’s athleticism to voters, Rove remained unconvinced, repeatedly calling the remarks “weird” and questioning what kind of message they were meant to send.