McEnany: Trump should wait until AFTER Georgia runoff for 2024 bid
Trump’s ex-press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says he should wait until AFTER the Georgia runoff to announce 2024 bid – and DeSantis should campaign in state after making the ‘single best case’ for the GOP with his Florida victory speech
- ‘I know there’s a temptation to starting talking about 2024 — no, no, no, no, no,’ McEnany said on Wednesday’s edition of ‘Outnumbered’
- ‘2022 is not over. Every Republican energy needs to go to grinding the Biden agenda to a halt, and that could go straight through the state of Georgia’
- Pressed by host Harris Faulkner on if that meant Trump delaying his reelection announcement, she said: ‘I think he needs to put it on pause, absolutely’
Trump’s former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday her former boss should wait until after the Georgia runoff next month to announce a run for president – and implied he should stay out of Georgia and let Ron DeSantis do the stumping for Republicans.
‘I know there’s a temptation to starting talking about 2024 — no, no, no, no, no,’ McEnany said on Wednesday’s edition of ‘Outnumbered.’
‘2022 is not over. Every Republican energy needs to go to grinding the Biden agenda to a halt, and that could go straight through the state of Georgia.’
Pressed by host Harris Faulkner on if that meant Trump delaying his reelection announcement, she said: ‘I think he needs to put it on pause, absolutely.’
McEnany refused to say whether Trump should appear with Walker in the Peach State in the run-up to December 6.
Asked by Faulkner whether the former president should go to Georgia, McEnany replied: ‘I think we’ve got to make strategic calculations. Gov. DeSantis, I think he should be welcome to the state, given what happened last night. You’ve got to look at the realities on the ground.’
Georgia’s Senate race is expected to head to a runoff on Dec. 6 after neither candidate breached the 50 percent threshold, per the state’s election law. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock holds a slight edge over Republican Herschel Walker.
During an election eve Ohio rally for J.D. Vance, Trump turned the midterm spotlight back onto himself by revealing he would have a ‘major announcement’ next week on Nov. 15.
Trump insiders said the former president was gunning to announce his run before the midterm elections. Many urged him to wait, in part to avoid turning the election into a referendum on him and partly to avoid blame should Republicans underperform on Tuesday.
Trump’s former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday her former boss should wait until after the Georgia runoff next month to announce a run for president
Pressed by host Harris Faulkner on if Trump should delay his reelection announcement, she said: ‘I think he needs to put it on pause, absolutely’
‘I know there’s a temptation to starting talking about 2024 — no, no, no, no, no,’ McEnany said on Wednesday’s edition of ‘Outnumbered’
But the former president was eager to piggyback off expected GOP momentum. But that excitement has waned, as conservatives underperform their expectations. Many now blame Trump for launching unelectable candidates to the forefront on primaries and placing fealty to him and his election fraud claims above likability and policy proposals.
On Wednesday Trump acknowledged Tuesday’s results were ‘disappointing’ for Republicans but counted them as a win for himself.
‘While in certain ways yesterday’s election was somewhat disappointing, from my personal standpoint it was a very big victory – 219 WINS and 16 Losses in the General – Who has ever done better than that?
Trump shot Walker to the front of the primary by backing him, even as he attacked Georgia’s GOP Gov. Brian Kemp and Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger for not toeing the line on his election fraud claims. Both Kemp and Raffensperger won with a comfortable lead over their opponents, suggesting a large number of ticket splitters could not bring themselves to vote for Trump-backed Walker.
Some Republicans are now gunning for a new leader of their party, and all eyes, including McEnany’s, are now turning to Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis after his successful re-election bid.
‘This was the single best case I have heard someone make for the GOP in quite some time,’ McEnany, a Florida native, said of DeSantis’ victory speech on Fox.
‘[Trump] will make that decision, he’ll make his own decision,’ McEnany said. ‘If I’m advising any contender, DeSantis, Trump, whomever, no one announces 2024 until we get through Dec. 6.’
Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Johnson emerged victorious over his Democratic rival Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin, as all major news networks called the race by Wednesday afternoon. Now the Senate hangs at a 48-48 balance. Alaska is sure to notch a GOP win – though ranked choice voting there pit incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski against Trump-backed challenger Kelly Tshibaka.
Arizona is tilting toward Democrats, though the race is still too close to call, while Nevada is leaning in favor of Republican Adam Laxalt. If trends hold, fate of the upper chamber will come down to the wire after another excruciating month of campaigning for Georgia’s runoff races.
The control of the House was also in the balance in the early hours of Wednesday morning after the Democrats performed better than expected. Many House races have not yet been called, but Republicans are up 203-174.
In Pennsylvania, Trump-backed Dr. Mehmet Oz lost the currently Republican-held Senate seat to Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.
According to The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, who recently released a scathing biography about Trump, the former president is particularly ‘furious’ that Oz lost – and is ‘blaming his wife’ for advising him to support him. They are shown yesterday leaving a polling station in Palm Beach
Trump was said to be ‘livid’ this morning and ‘screaming at everybody’ after a lackluster performance by Republicans in the midterms – and is even rumored to be blaming his wife Melania for advising him to endorse defeated Pennsylvania candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz.
‘Trump is indeed furious this morning, particularly about Mehmet Oz, and is blaming everyone who advised him to back Oz — including his wife, describing it as not her best decision, according to people close to him,’ the well-sourced New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted.
She continued: ‘There are people pushing Trump to reschedule his announcement next week, and several Rs have texted asking whether he will, but it’s risky and would be acknowledging he’s wounded by yesterday, something that some of his advisers insist is not the case.’
CNN’s Jim Acosta cites an unnamed adviser who said the president is ‘livid’ and ‘screaming at everybody’ today after last night’s underwhelming Republican results.
Taylor Budowich, Trump’s spokesperson, told DailyMail.com such reports were ‘completely fake’ this morning.
Acosta cites an unnamed adviser who said he is ‘screaming at everybody’ today.
He also took credit for Ron DeSantis 2018 win, saying he ‘was not going to be a factor’ in the race before his endorsement.
‘He was not going to be able to even be a factor in the race. And as soon within moments, the race was over.
‘I got him the nomination. He didn’t get it. I got it, because the minute I made that endorsement, he got it.’
Duncan, the Lt. Gov of Georgia, said Republicans would have had better success with a different pool of candidates.
‘It turns out Mitch McConnell knew what he was talking about with candidate quality,’ he said, referring to McConnell’s prediction in August that poor quality would impact the result.
‘If they would have just woke up 12 months ago, and stopped taking his lead and took the lead of what real Republican, real conservative policies meant and mattered, we’d be in a different place.
‘I wouldn’t want to be the one delivering him the news last night or this morning as to what the results of the candidates they supported and poured money into were, it’s time to turn the page.
‘I’m ready to move on. Who knows. Donald Trump is moving from a movement to a distraction for the Republican Party now.
Source: Read Full Article