After airing a highlight reel of the Florida governor taking aim at reporters, Kelly heaped on the praise before cutting to the chase.

“Let’s face it, though, he’s borrowing heavily from Donald Trump style and agenda and policies, and that’s fine,” he said. “That’s totally fine, but I’m hearing from more and more Republicans. ‘Well, you know, Donald Trump has all that baggage, and it’s time for a fresh face.’ Don’t fall for that argument!”

Kelly then dug in, arguing that, unlike Trump, DeSantis could be considered a “career politician.”

“Let’s see, he’s forty-three now, on Election Day in November of 2024, he would be forty-five years old. 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,” the primetime Newsmax host said. “Just a little bit.”