Veteran Republican strategist Karl Rove sharply criticized President Donald Trump in a recent Wall Street Journal column, calling out the president’s continued promotion of conspiracy theories surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, January 6, and the 2020 election.
“We’re seeing what happens when conspiracy collides with reality,” Rove wrote, pointing to the controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein case, which he claims has created a lasting rift among MAGA supporters.
“For years, Mr. Trump raised questions about Epstein… After assuming the presidency a second time, Mr. Trump was obligated to deliver,” Rove noted, adding that “many in MAGA reacted with incredulity and anger” when Trump did not follow through.
“There’s hell to pay when those who hyped the conspiracy have closed the books on the case,” Rove continued. “Team Trump is now in damage control mode. They’ve also fought among themselves. That will leave scars.”
Rove went further, highlighting other conspiracy theories still circulating within Trump’s base. Some MAGA-aligned figures allege that the January 6 Capitol riot was orchestrated internally to sabotage Trump, with federal provocateurs inciting violence. Trump and his supporters also maintain the 2020 election was stolen through ballot manipulation and fraud.
“Will the Trump administration now discover the perpetrators of these crimes and bring them to justice?” Rove asked rhetorically.
He speculated that if Team Trump were able to present compelling evidence of such conspiracies—be it through claims of tampered vote counts, foreign servers, or supposed Deep State operatives—it could vindicate their supporters. But he concluded bluntly: “In truth, there is no ‘there’ in either case.” He emphasized that despite the passage of time, no court case or solid evidence has substantiated the broad allegations related to the 2020 election or the Capitol riot.
Admitting that the election wasn’t stolen or that federal agents didn’t incite January 6, Rove warned, would provoke backlash from conspiracy-believing MAGA voters and risk splintering Trump’s base.
He added another pointed critique, referencing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s calls to prosecute Obama-era officials over what she has described as a 2016 “treasonous conspiracy” to stop Trump’s first election victory. “Katie-bar-the-door if [she] doesn’t send someone to jail,” Rove wrote.
“Conspiracy theories undermine trust and cause chaos,” Rove concluded. “When they are believed by large numbers of people, truth and reality become subjective. None of that bothers Mr. Trump. What should trouble him is that recent events may well reduce the number of his supporters who vote in the midterms and beyond. Told their passionately held beliefs are wrong or forced to watch the White House fail to jail their common enemies, many might become discouraged, tune out and drop out of politics.”
President Trump is currently suing The Wall Street Journal over a report it published about a birthday card he allegedly sent Epstein for the convicted sex offender’s 50th birthday.
