Karl Rove called Gavin Newsom 'totally brilliant' for ad-campaigns, but blamed him for a 'California exodus'

• GOP operative Karl Rove commended Gov. Gavin Newsom's political ads in Florida and Texas.
• Rove believed it was great positioning for the California Governor if he runs for president in 2024.

GOP stalwart Karl Rove gave props to Gov. Gavin Newsom for airing political ads in Florida and Texas and preparing for a presidential run.

"I think it is absolutely totally brilliant on the part of Governor Newsom. Think about this: He has raised $23 million for his re-election campaign. He spent $100,000 on ads in Florida," the George W. Bush-era advisor told Fox host Bill Hemmer on a Tuesday episode of "America's Newsroom."

In one ad that aired in Florida on Independence Day, Newsom said "Freedom is under attack in your state." He then urged Floridians to "join the fight, or join us in California."

In another ad, Newsom took on Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas gun laws after DeSantis put out a newspaper ad that read: "Our creator endowed us with the right to life. And yet ... children lose their right to life every year because of abortion. In Texas, we work to save those lives."

In Newsom's version of the ad, he swapped out "abortion" with "gun violence" and "Texas" with "California."

There is speculation among political analysts that Newsom will run for President in 2024. Though Newsom denied running, Rove expanded on the possibility.

"What could be better for a potential presidential candidate than spend $130,000 and get two weeks of national identification as a fighting Democrat who's willing to take it to the Republicans?" Rove added, referencing Newsom's ads.

"Now, he says that he is not running — that he wants Joe Biden to run, but that's the right thing for him to say now because everybody really knows Joe Biden is not going to be the nominee of the Democratic party in 2024," he continued.

Still, Rove stopped short of praising Newsom as a leader, blaming his policies for the "California exodus," a belief that California residents are migrating to other states.

"And in the meantime, several thousand people a week have left California for Florida or Texas. California is going to continue to hemorrhage people because of liberal policies by Newsom."

A 2021 survey by the University of California found that residents are in fact not moving out of the state at unusually high rates.

"He has got himself a great stunt to attract the attention of Democrats and position himself for 2024," he continued.