Karl Rove says Donald Trump may very well win the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
But the influential GOP consultant and policy adviser, in an exclusive interview with
Newsmax TV, adds the billionaire developer's acidic attacks on his fellow candidates could hurt his chances.
"He's taken the lead – took the lead in July and held it. He's got a chance to win the nomination," Rove said Wednesday on "Newsmax Prime" with J.D. Hayworth.
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"His challenge is, he's created a high floor, but a low ceiling. It's sort of hard to grow when you've taken on the habit of excoriating everybody else in the race calling them 'losers' and 'clowns' and 'morons' and personally belittling them."
In a Quinnipiac University poll, Trump remains the Republican presidential front-runner in the pivotal primary state Iowa with 25 percent, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas with 23 percent and Dr. Ben Carson with 18 percent.
But Rove — deputy chief of staff under President George W. Bush and author of the new book
"The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters" — believes Trump may have trouble attracting supporters of candidates who've exited the race.
They include: former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and, most recently, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
"It's sort of hard to pick up them and their people if you're [attacking them]. So he's got to find a way in the next two months to begin to pivot so he can become a unifier," Rove said.
"Nobody wins the nomination and wins the general election until they have unified the party and then attempt to unify the country."
Rove knows of Trump's wrath, having been the victim of it himself.
Earlier this month, Trump called Rove a "biased dope" for criticizing his stances on China and the Trans-Pacific Partnership global trade deal in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.
"This moron wasted $430 million on political campaigns and lost 100 percent," Trump railed on Twitter, referring to Rove's political action committee American Crossroads.
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