Karl Rove on the 'squad's effect on the Democratic Party
Karl Rove on the 'squad's effect on the Democratic Party
The four far-left freshmen House Democrats known as "The Squad" are having a discernible impact on the state of the Democratic Party, according to Karl Rove.
But the Squad members -- U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. -- are not indicative of the mainstream of the party, Rove claimed Wednesday on "Fox News @ Night."
"They are not representative of what most Democrats are about," he said. "But they're dominating the [media] coverage.
"They are not representative of what most Democrats are about. But they're dominating the [media] coverage."
"Who knows what the Democrats in the House have attempted to do since they took the majority? They have been overshadowed by calls for impeachment and now they're being overshadowed by the Squad. And, the Squad is having an effect."
DEMS CIRCLE WAGONS AROUND THE 'SQUAD,' AS OMAR RESPONDS TO 'SEND HER BACK' CHANT
Earlier Wednesday, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, composed an impeachment resolution against President Trump that was set aside by the House in an afternoon vote. Green's resolution was prompted by the president's recent remarks about The Squad -- although he did not mention them by name.
Speaking with Fox News' Mike Emanuel on Wednesday night, Rove -- who served as an adviser and deputy chief of staff under former President George W. Bush -- added there is a leftward shift in the Democratic Party overall since President Trump, a Republican, took office.
"Who would've thought that a year ago every Democrat on that stage in the debate would've raised their hand and said, 'I'm in favor of free health care for illegal aliens'?" Rove said, referring to the pledge that Democratic presidential hopefuls made in Miami recently.
"This is the kind of thing that these people are driving," he added of the Squad. "And, it's to the detriment of the Democratic Party, but it's hard to get them off the stage."
Following President Trump's rally in Pitt County, N.C., on Wednesday night, Omar and a slew of commentators united in condemning the president, after the rally crowd broke out in a striking chant of, "Send her back!," referring to Omar, the Minnesota lawmaker who came to the U.S. with her family as immigrants from Somalia.
The three-word chant referred to Trump's tweet on Sunday in which the president said unnamed "Democrat Congresswomen" should go back and fix the "corrupt" and "crime-infested places" from which they came and then "come back and show us how it's done."
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The president later all but affirmed he was referring to Omar, as well as Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, and Pressley -- all of whom, except Omar, were born in the United States. After a historic floor fight, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives formally condemned Trump's comments as "racist" on Tuesday.
"Let 'em leave. ... They're always telling us how to run it, how to do this, how to do that. You know what? If they don't love it, tell 'em to leave it," Trump said at the rally, doubling down on his earlier comments.
Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.
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