Kayleigh McEnany, a former Trump White House press secretary and now a personality on the conservative network Fox News, on Wednesday urged Donald Trump to postpone his announcement of a 2024 presidential run.
Before the 2022 midterms, Trump had teased a “major announcement,” believed to be about his official candidacy, to come Nov. 15. But with the GOP performing worse than anticipated on Tuesday, and much of the blame being put on Trump’s “terrible” choice of candidates, McEnany suggested he should now “put it on pause.”
Republicans should instead focus on winning the U.S. Senate via the runoff election between incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) and Trump-endorsed GOP former football player Herschel Walker on Dec. 6, she said.
“There’s a very real likelihood it could all come down to Georgia. And what does that give you heebie-jeebies of? It gives you the heebie-jeebies of last time around in 2020,” said McEnany. Trump’s baseless voter fraud claims following his loss to Joe Biden were blamed for GOP runoff losses in the state.
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“Every ounce of Republican energy, every last ounce needs to go into that Georgia race because it could potentially be what makes or breaks the Senate,” she continued. “Getting Herschel Walker over the finish line, I know there’s a temptation to start talking about 2024. No, no, no, no, no. 2022 is not over.”
“I think he needs to put it on pause. Absolutely,” she added of Trump.
Trump will ultimately “make his own decision,” acknowledged McEnany. “But if I’m advising any contender; [Florida GOP Gov. Ron] DeSantis, Trump, whomever … no one announces 2024 until we get through Dec. 6.”
Former Trump adviser Jason Miller agreed.
“I’ll be advising him that he move his announcement until after the Georgia runoff,” he said, per The Associated Press. “Georgia needs to be the focus of every Republican in the country right now.”