Republican political consultant Karl Rove Saturday praised Donald Trump's selection of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate, and said that the governor's best asset is helping in the "the consolidation of the party faithful behind the ticket."
"The vice president doesn't make a big impact upon the nationwide vote," Rove told Paul Gigot on Fox News, "but the vice president can directly help in the consolidation of the party faithful behind the ticket."
He noted that many of the polls released this week primarily showed Democrat Hillary Clinton "moving down, not Trump moving up."
Rove cited, for instance, the
Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday that has Trump three points ahead of Clinton in Florida. In June, Clinton led by eight points.
"If you take all these polls and average them together … you'll see a similar pattern: In late June, Hillary Clinton peaked and began to move down."
Therefore, a Trump-Pence ticket can take the White House in November, but "he's got to find the right mix in advocating an optimistic and positive agenda that causes people to become a part of what he sees for the future of America.
"He missed a big opportunity the week before last in his first appearance after [FBI Director James] Comey lacerated Hillary Clinton, he gave a speech devoted to defending himself on the Star of David and the tweet — and not a good use of his time."
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