Karl Rove on the midterms: ‘Trump looms over this. No ifs or buts’

The veteran political strategist on why he believes his Republican party will benefit from dissatisfaction with the status quo

On the eve of a crucial midterms election that Joe Biden has warned will preserve democracy or put us at risk", veteran top Republican strategist Karl Rove says his party will benefit from dissatisfaction with the status quo, despite the specter of a Trump 2024 run and the end of federal abortion rights.

Rove, widely seen as a villain by the left for his orchestration of George W Bush's victory over Al Gore in 2000, and for his senior role in Bush's two terms as president, says American voters are being propelled by fears over inflation, the economy, crime in some areas, and feelings about the overall direction the country.