MAGA Republicans underperformed in the midterms so badly that even Kayleigh McEnany is calling on Donald Trump to hit the pause on announcing a presidential run.
Tuesday’s midterm election underperformances have pushed Fox News stars to quickly come to the realization that their long-hyped “red wave” had turned into an “absolute disaster.” Additionally, the network and other Murdoch-owned media outlets have begun pointing the finger at Trump and the fringe candidates he endorsed, blaming him for the disastrous results.
One bright spot for the GOP, however, was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ dominant victory on Tuesday, which seemed to carry over to other statewide races in his state. This has resulted in a noticeable shift in the right-wing media ecosphere, with the knives seemingly now out for Trump and pundits actively pushing for the GOP to displace the ex-president with DeSantis as the party’s figurehead.
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The open criticism of Trump from conservative media, while they simultaneously lavish praise on the Florida governor, suddenly puts a kink in Trump’s plans to launch his long-expected presidential campaign—especially with that anticipated red tsunami turning into a slight ripple.
With the balance of the Senate looking more and more likely to come down to a runoff in Georgia between Sen. Raphael Warnock and the Trump-endorsed GOP challenger Herschel Walker, even Trump’s fiercest loyalists are suggesting he lay low for a while.
“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,” said McEnany, a former Trump press secretary, on Fox News’ Outnumbered on Wednesday.
Of course, many Republicans felt that Trump’s baseless assertion that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him was a likely factor in the GOP losing both Senate runoff races in Georgia that year.
“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,” McEnany added. “Every Republican energy needs to go to grinding the Biden agenda to a halt, and that could go straight through the state of Georgia.”
“Does that include Trump?” Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner asked.
“I think he needs to put it on pause,” the ex-Trump flack replied. “Absolutely. Look, he'll make that decision. He'll make his own decision.”
Faulkner went on to wonder aloud whether Trump should go down to Georgia to campaign for the scandal-plagued Walker, something McEnany did not directly answer—though she did recommend another GOP star.
“I think we've got to make strategic calculations,” she declared. “Governor DeSantis, I think he should be welcome to the state given what happened last night. You've got to look you got to look at the realities on the ground. And Herschel Walker, we've got to win the Senate. That's it, guys. Got to win the Senate.”
Despite the fact that his ex-spokeswoman and fervent defender is urging him to delay his campaign announcement, it’s been reported that there’s “literally zero indication he’s changing any plans” and that it is merely “wishcasting by others.”
