Opinion
By Karl Rove
The zig and zags of politics have been dizzying recently. But some of the turns seem to be in a good direction.
One is President Trump’s reversal on Jeffrey Epstein. After months opposing a bill requiring the Justice Department to release its records on the convicted sex offender, Mr. Trump flipped Sunday and demanded its passage.
This was wise and overdue. The more the president resisted the documents’ release, the more Americans thought he was hiding something.
The record suggests he isn’t. Yes, Mr. Trump and Epstein were pals on the social circuit, photographed together at events. But no credible evidence has surfaced showing he participated in Epstein’s crimes.
Mr. Trump claims that in the mid-2000s he discovered Epstein was poaching young female employees from Mar-a-Lago. He then kicked Epstein out and cut ties.
On Tuesday the House and Senate passed the Epstein files bill with only one nay vote. Mr. Trump should sign it into law and drop the subject. The same applies to his demands that the Justice Department investigate Democrats whose names appear in Epstein’s files. These attacks fire up the Democratic base and raise doubts among voters that he doth protest too much.
The administration made another wise reversal recently. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced it would cut tariffs on products including coffee and bananas. That’s welcome news for U.S. consumers. Tariffs raise prices, and some of these are things American workers can’t produce at all (bananas) or in sufficient quantities (Hawaii alone can’t supply U.S. coffee needs). These imports deserve zero tariffs.
Mr. Trump’s favorite president, William McKinley, would approve. He became convinced during the 1890 congressional tariff debates that it was in America’s interest to lower tariffs on goods the U.S. couldn’t or didn’t produce. Instead, he pursued reciprocal trade agreements with countries, especially in the Western Hemisphere, that had a comparative advantage in producing particular goods.
Another area in which the GOP would be wise to move in new directions is healthcare. The government shutdown put the spotlight on Democratic demands to continue Covid-era Affordable Care Act subsidies. Polls show Americans see healthcare costs as a key part of their personal economic well-being.
Democrats will make healthcare affordability a central midterm issue. It’ll be impossible for Republicans to ignore and unlikely they’ll win over most voters to their side. But the GOP can—and must—narrow the Democratic advantage.
Democrats believe layering on more government rules, regulations and red tape will make healthcare cheaper. The GOP believes that approach hasn’t worked. Since the passage of the ACA, healthcare has become far more expensive, not less; hence the large, supposedly temporary subsidies Democrats now want to make permanent.
The Republican way to make healthcare more affordable is by empowering customers. Then competition and market forces do what they do: expand choice, push prices down, and produce better outcomes. Popular government-sponsored healthcare programs already rely on markets and consumer choice. These include Medicare Advantage, the Medicare prescription drug benefit and health savings accounts.
Congressional Republicans should head up the effort. The administration has talented leaders who can help, including domestic policy chief Vince Haley and Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Mehmet Oz. But GOP officeholders with medical expertise and those who’ve worked extensively on healthcare issues should chart the course.
It’s the congressional majorities that will be on the ballot next year. A process led from Capitol Hill will result in more voices in those majorities advocating reforms, which is essential to narrowing the Democratic advantage on this issue. Better to have several hundred GOP candidates spreading the word than depending on a White House that often struggles with message discipline.
Republicans don’t need to pass their proposals into law before the midterms. But they must show they have better healthcare answers than simply spending more taxpayer dollars.
It will be challenging. Every White House must periodically adjust focus, messaging and tone. Circumstance has forced that moment on Team Trump, whose words and actions often weren’t helping.
Fashioning a healthcare reform agenda will be hard but vital for electoral success. Many nervous candidates fervently hope for a midcourse GOP correction that gives the party a boost next year. Let it begin.
The column by Mr. Rove, courtesy of rove.com, was first published in The Wall Street Journal.
Karl Rove/Photo courtesy of rove.com.
Karl Rove served as Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush from 2000–2007 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 2004–2007. At the White House he oversaw the Offices of Strategic Initiatives, Political Affairs, Public Liaison, and Intergovernmental Affairs and was Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, coordinating the White House policy-making process.
Before Mr. Rove became known as “The Architect” of President Bush’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns, he was president of Karl Rove + Company, an Austin-based public affairs firm that worked for Republican candidates, non-partisan causes, and non-profit groups. His clients included over 75 Republican U.S. Senate, Congressional, and gubernatorial candidates in 24 states, as well as the Moderate Party of Sweden.