‘Lay behind the log’: Karl Rove urges Ron DeSantis to delay presidential launch

Karl Rove. Image via AP.

Karl Rove continues to offer unsolicited public advice to Ron DeSantis ahead of a potential presidential run.

On Wednesday, the Fox News Channel political strategist and commentator urged the Florida Governor to “lay behind the log” and indulge in the “dance” that is the period before a formal launch of a candidacy.

“Gov. DeSantis has a Legislative Session going on. He’s been traveling a little bit around the country laying out a message. He can sort of lay behind the log and talk to a lot of people and basically say, ‘I’m thinking about running, what do you think if I do?’ And that’s an important part of the dance that people are involved in,” Rove said.

“People like to be asked for their ideas about whether or not somebody should run before they run,” he continued. “Because the moment they declare, that’s the end to saying, ‘You’re so important that I wanted to talk to you before I decide to run.'”

Rove offered similar advice as recently as late January, when he urged the Governor to “focus on Florida,” arguing the DeSantis camp should “take advantage of the fact that they’ve got good feeling out there.”

“What they should be doing now is focusing on Florida and laying the groundwork to enter the race later in the year,” Rove argued, pointing out that Donald Trump waited until June 2015 to enter the presidential fray, and his former client George W. Bush also waited until June 1999 to enter the 2000 race.

“They’ve got time,” Rove counseled. “February, March, April, May, June. And more important, they can be talking to people around the country.”

It appears that DeSantis will wait at least a few months before getting in the race. In a recent interview, he noted that he has an upcoming book tour and the 2023 Legislative Session ahead, adding that “as we get beyond that, then we can decide from there.”