Newsmax anchor Greg Kelly carved out time on his primetime show to heap praise on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis(R), before saying that he should put a pin in a possible presidential campaign – at least for the time being.
“Gov. Ron DeSantis. He is amazing, so talented, so smart, unlimited political future. I want him to be president someday,” Kelly said as he opened his Friday evening show.
Then, a graphic appeared on screen with the words, “Not Yet, Ron.”
“I think that’s almost guaranteed to happen, but I’d rather not see him run in 2024,” Kelly continued.
Kelly suggested that DeSantis’ age allows him more time to improve on certain aspects of his campaign-style before running against former President Donald Trump for the White House.
“Let’s see, he’s forty-three now, on Election Day in November of 2024, he would be forty-five years old,” the conservative host said. “Now, here’s the thing. That makes him, what, three decades younger then-President Trump. I’m not saying that’s a good thing, I’m saying he’s got plenty of time ahead of him to make his move, but not now, and there are some things he needs to clean up.”
Kelly went on to critique DeSantis’ 2018 debate performance, saying he was “nervous” and “fidgety,” saying he “needs to work on that.”
Trump has not yet declared a second bid for the White House, though he has hinted at it, most recently in last week’s interview with Newsmax.
“I am leading in all the polls — against Republicans and Democrats,” Trump said, before adding, “I am leading in the Republican polls in numbers that no one has ever even seen before. And against Biden, and anyone else they run, I am leading against them. At the right time, I will be saying what I want to do.”
