Karl Rove on Trump, first GOP debate: ‘I would show up if I were him’

Republican strategist and Fox News contributor Karl Rove suggested former President Trump should show up to the first GOP debate, which he has floated the idea of skipping.

Fox News’s Bill Hemmer asked Rove whether he would attend the first Republican debate next week if he were Trump, who has yet to announce whether he will attend. Rove said he would, noting that Trump will still face some problems if he shows up.

“There are dangers … if he shows up, he will be attacked by everybody in one way, shape or form,” he said on “America’s Newsroom.”

He said some GOP candidates, like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, will be “hard” and “direct” when attacking Trump while others will try to “move around him.”

“But I’d show up if I were him because this is where you get to demonstrate, ‘I am the leader and I will remain the leader,’” Rove said. “If he doesn’t show up, there are going to be people who say to themselves, ‘Didn’t he tell us, didn’t he mock Joe Biden for not debating and hasn’t he said he was the world’s greatest debater?’”

Fox is hosting the first GOP debate next week, which Trump claims he does not need to attend because of his sizable lead in most of the polls. Rove pointed to polls that show that Republicans have concerns about Trump’s growing legal woes as a reason Trump should attend the debate.

“Depending on what poll you look at — a plurality or a majority of Republicans who say that if he’s convicted of something in one of these federal suits and one of these four lawsuits, four indictments, they’re not going to vote for him,” Rove said. “So he’s got to find ways to assuage those kind of growing concerns. And the best way to do it is to show up on Aug. 23 and Sept. 27.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.