The budding songstress, failed GOP contender for Arizona governor and queen of election denying treats the Mar-a-Lago Club like a second home, keeps stumping for Trump to anyone that will invite her and finds new ways to conflate misinformation with facts about the former president.
It’s fueling fresh speculation that Lake, still smarting from her election loss in November, is auditioning for Trump’s ticket as vice president instead of pursuing the Republican nod in Arizona for U.S. Senate.
As Trump guns for a second term, Lake is either among four women he’s considering as his running mate, according to Axios, or seven, according to the Guardian.
Trump faces dozens of felony charges in New York stemming from a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. On June 8, he became the first U.S. president to be indicted on federal criminal charges. He pleaded not guilty in a Miami courtroom.
But the criminal cases haven’t stopped Lake from cozying up with the orange-tinted ex-commander-in-chief as she tries to write a new political chapter in the wake of several fruitless attempts to overturn her gubernatorial election loss last year.
Kari Lake greets supporters during an event with former President Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago Club on April 4, the same day Trump pleaded not guilty in a New York courtroom.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Kar-i-Lago
Lake has spent more time at Trump’s opulent Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., than former First Lady Melania Trump, People Magazine reported.
“Kari Lake is there all the time,” an unidentified source told the magazine. “There’s a suite there that she practically lives in.”
Since Trump endorsed Lake’s bid for Arizona governor in 2021, the ex-Phoenix newscaster has appropriated his persona and riffed about the “Big Lie.”
Can Lake secure Trump’s approval and earn a spot on the 2024 ticket by persistently placing herself in his presence? Her top spokesperson didn’t respond to numerous phone calls and emails about the matter. But Trump’s camp has distanced itself from the whispers.
“Anyone who thinks they know what President Trump is going to do is seriously misinformed and trying to curry favor with ‘potential’ VP candidates,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said. “President Trump will choose his running mate on his own time, and those who are playing the media game are doing so at their own peril.”
Former President Donald Trump with Kari Lake during his speech at a Florence, Ariz., campaign stop in January 2022.
Jacob Tyler Dunn
Sticking to her guns
Speaking at a Georgia GOP convention on June 9, Lake vowed to employ firepower in defense of Trump against those who accept his 2020 election loss and support his mounting criminal charges.
“If you want to get to President Trump, you’re going to have to go through me, and you’re going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me,” Lake said. “And most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA. That’s not a threat. That’s a public service announcement”
U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Phoenix Democrat who’s running to unseat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, called Lake’s remarks “dangerous” in a press release on June 11.
“I know this language isn’t just hyperbole — it’s dangerous and it threatens the very core of our democracy,” Gallego said. “For that, Kari owes every America-loving Arizonan an apology.”
Lake’s presence at the convention was in the stead of Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, who is among a dozen Republican challengers vying for their party’s nomination.
Kari Lake is among a handful of high-profile women feeding speculation about joining Trump’s ticket.
Gage Skidmore / Elias Weiss
Imaginary numbers
Lake doubled down on her stance in a June 12 interview on the “War Room” podcast hosted by former Trump adviser Steven Bannon. Her appearance on the podcast was an attempt at inciting Trump supporters.
“I made a mistake; I said 75 million others just like me,” Lake said of her June 9 comment. “I think it’s more like 300 million others just like me.”
The U.S. population stands at nearly 335 million, according to the Census Bureau population clock. That would mean more than 90% of Americans would put their lives on the line for Trump.
However, a June national poll conducted by Quinnipiac University found that the majority of Americans — about 6 in 10 — have an unfavorable view of the former president.
Kari Lake, an ex-Phoenix newscaster, released a pseudo-country track, “81 Million Votes, My Ass,” on June 2.
Mailman Media
Out of tune
Earlier this month, Lake piloted an unconventional new method of supporting Trump’s conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen from him when she released a pseudo-country track, “81 Million Votes, My Ass.”
The song’s title was a reference to Lake’s quote from a CPAC dinner on March 3 in which she expressed skepticism about the vote tally President Joe Biden reached in the 2020 election.
From the recording studio to staying at Trump’s ritzy resort residence, Lake is doing what she can to further Trump’s cause and pledge her allegiance to him.
In a March 30 statement, Lake said Trump was likely to win the Republican nomination and unseat President Joe Biden in the White House.
“The radical left and their weaponized criminal justice system have crossed all legal and ethical lines in an attempt to destroy the 45th and likely 47th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump,” she said.
Only time will tell if Lake’s efforts are enough to cement a spot on the 2024 ballot.