Trump Won't Like This: Kayleigh McEnany Says It's Time to Re-Evaluate 'Strategic Calculations'
In a somewhat unexpected move, former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany had some surprisingly critical words for the former president.
On Wednesday, McEnany, a co-host on Fox News’s highly successful “Outnumbered,” appeared on her show and essentially told former President Donald Trump to chill out — at least for a little while.
“Let me just say this,” McEnany began as she started to address the upcoming runoff election between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker for a critical Georgia senate seat.
“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 said.
You can watch the full clip below:
Now, based on the above quote, there’s nothing controversial with what McEnany said. Republicans would be wise to pump as much energy and money into Walker’s campaign, given how important that seat will be for holding a Senate majority.
However, it was McEnany’s remarks about what her former boss, Donald Trump, should do — or shouldn’t do in this case — that has caught the attention of conservatives.
“I know there’s a temptation to start talking about 2024,” McEnany said, in a clear reference to a widely expected Trump presidential bid, “2022 is not over. Every [bit of] Republican energy needs to go to grinding the Biden agenda to a halt, and that could go straight through the state of Georgia.”
While it’s clear McEnany was referring to Trump’s potential 2024 presidential bid, she avoided the topic directly until she was asked specifically about Trump.
“I think he needs to put it on pause,” McEnany said in regards to the expected big announcement from Trump.
“If I’m advising any contender — DeSantis, Trump, whomever — no one announces 2024 until we get through Dec. 6,” McEnany said.
Okay, fair enough. To imply that all political energy and attention from the GOP should remain laser-focused on Georgia is sound strategy. Presidential bids can wait, especially given general elections are still two whole years away.
But it was when McEnany appeared to imply that Gov. Ron DeSantis, not Trump, would be most suited to help push Walker over the finish line, that raised some eyebrows.
“Do you see the former president, a need for him to go to Georgia?” asked “Outnumbered” co-host Harris Faulkner.
“I think we’ve got to make strategic calculations,” McEnany said. “Gov. DeSantis, I think he should be welcomed to the state given what happened [during Tuesday’s midterm elections].”
“Oh that’s interesting,” Falkner said in response.
And indeed, that is an interesting quasi-endorsement from McEnany. Whether you think Trump is a kingmaker or a kingslayer, you would expect McEnany — one of Trump’s most loyal and fiercest defenders during her time as press secretary — to push for him.
McEnany’s remarks do throw fuel on what appears to be a pending inferno if/when Trump and DeSantis go toe-to-toe for the Republican primary.
But even Trump loyalists would have to admit that Tuesday’s midterms were hardly a crowning achievement for the former president. Many of his endorsed candidates underperformed or lost a race they shouldn’t have.
DeSantis, meanwhile, was able to provide a clear vision of what he wants Florida to become and that translated to a landslide win soaked in liberal tears.
To say that DeSantis had a more successful midterm than Trump is not hyperbole. It is fact.
McEnany, to her credit, appears to be putting party above all else with her light criticism of Trump. She is astutely aware that changing this country for the better will require these midterm victories first, before worrying about 2024.
“You got to look at the realities on the ground and Herschel Walker. We got to win the Senate. That’s it guys. We got to win the Senate,” McEnany concluded.
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