Karl Rove: WH Staff 'Have Been Leaking on Each Other for Weeks'

Political strategist Karl Rove said Sunday President Donald Trump's aides "have been leaking on each other for weeks."

In an interview on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo," the former senior adviser to President George W. Bush said "There's a lot of acrimony inside the White House."

"These people have been leaking on each other for weeks," Rove said. "Unnamed White House officials are dissing to reporters about other people inside the White House."

Rove said there's three competing factions in the White House, which he said include the allies and supporters of senior adviser Jared Kushner, chief strategist Steve Bannon and chief of staff Reince Priebus.

"You will always have tension," Rove said. "You want a diversity of opinion… Right now there's plenty of diversity of opinion but there doesn't appear to be sufficient unity of purpose."

Rove said he believes a sign that top aides aren't getting along is because the president is expressing concern and asking others what they think of his staff.

"And while I think there is a tendency to exaggerate a little bit in the press, I think there's a lot behind this that's real," he said.

Rove singled out for praise Trump's head of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohen, saying he's been involving White House aides in relevant discussions, drafting a plan, and then presenting it to the president "in an organized, deliberative fashion."

"I remember when I was in the White House I was the senior adviser and the chief of staff said to me, 'I don't want people in the White House whose job it is to advise the president. I want people who have responsibility for running the process and execute the decisions we make…'" Rove added.

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