Kari Lake Among Top Picks for Trump’s Ambassador to Mexico: Report
Republican firebrand Kari Lake is reportedly a leading contender for the role of U.S. ambassador to Mexico under President-elect Donald Trump.
Lake, a longtime Trump supporter and advocate for strong border security, recently lost her bid for an Arizona Senate seat to Democrat Ruben Gallego. She also previously ran for Arizona governor in 2022 but was unsuccessful.
“A staunch Trump ally, Lake has remained close to the president-elect over the last few years, backing his unproven claims that the 2020 election was stolen. During her most recent run for office, Lake sought to moderate some of her positions, particularly on the topic of abortion. She also made efforts to mend fences with some establishment Republicans whom she had sparred with in the past,” Semafor reported.
The outlet also noted: “Lake has echoed Trump in backing strict limits on immigration. On the campaign trail, Lake described the influx of migrants entering the US as an ‘invasion.’ She campaigned on finishing the wall at the US southern border, increasing the number of judges who hear asylum claims, stepping up quick deportations of undocumented immigrants who cross outside official ports of entry, and building additional border detention facilities.”
Recently, Lake addressed speculation about joining Newsmax during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast.
“That reporting yesterday was absolutely fake news,” she told Bannon, a key Trump ally. “Think about how bad the media is. You cannot hate them enough, Steve. You really, really can’t.”
Lake detailed how the false report gained traction, explaining that both she and Newsmax had denied the claims before the story was published.
“They reached out to me, asked if I was negotiating with Newsmax. I said, no, you know, get better sources. You’re wrong. Apparently, they reached out to Newsmax. Newsmax said it’s false, and they run the story anyway,” she explained.
Taking aim at the media, Lake, a former Phoenix-area news anchor, criticized what she described as a deteriorating industry.
“We cannot possibly have enough ire toward the absolute fake news that we already have. Thankfully, it’s starting to collapse. They’ll just run any fake hit piece for clicks to try to disparage me, and I’m used to it,” she told Bannon.
Drawing parallels between her experience with the press and the scrutiny faced by Trump, Lake voiced support for his proposal to revoke broadcasting licenses from media outlets accused of misinformation. She also pointed to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr as a key figure in potential media reforms.
As for her own future, Lake said she is taking some time to recharge after leading a grassroots movement in Arizona for more than three years. However, she made it clear that she has no plans to step away from politics.
“I will tell the people listening to this, especially if you’ve got some of the leftists who despise our movement, I’m not going away,” Lake stated.
“As much as they want me to go away, I am not going away. And so they can’t get rid of me. They can write as many nasty stories about me, filled with lies as they want. We are not going away,” she added.
Before entering politics, Lake spent over 20 years as a news anchor for Phoenix’s Fox 10. Since leaving the station, she has become a vocal Trump ally and ran for Arizona governor in 2022, losing to now-Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who declined to debate her during the campaign.