Kayleigh McEnany: Trump should wait until after Georgia runoff to declare 2024 candidacy

Fox News contributor and former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says former President Trump should hold off on his expected announcement of a 2024 White House bid until after next month’s Georgia Senate runoff election.

“I know there’s a temptation to starting talking about 2024 — no, no, no, no, no,” McEnany said on Wednesday’s edition of “Outnumbered.” She added, “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 co-host Harris Faulkner if that should include Trump, McEnany responded, “I think he needs to put it on pause, absolutely.”

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) is set for a runoff against GOP political newcomer Herschel Walker, who was encouraged to run by Trump, on Dec. 6, after neither Georgia candidate captured 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s midterms.

Trump has teased a “major announcement” next Tuesday, widely expected to be another presidential campaign.

Some Republicans and political observers have been calling on the party to move on from Trump, particularly following losses taken by a number of candidates he backed in key congressional races this year.

“He’ll 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.”

The resounding Tuesday reelection victory of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is also widely seen as a 2024 contender, was one of the bright spots in the midterm elections for Republicans.

Faulkner also asked McEnany if Trump should campaign for Walker in Georgia, to which she 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.”