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Kari Lake Makes the Round of Radical Right-Wing Programs

Kari Lake, pictured at a campaign rally, speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at Dillon Precision in Scottsdale, Arizona, Oct. 19, 2022. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)

Update 2/9/23: A day after publishing this story, the Conservative Political Action Conference named Kari Lake its flagship speaker(link is external) for its upcoming March conference.

It has been three months since broadcaster-turned-MAGA-cultist(link is external) Kari Lake lost(link is external) her bid for governor of Arizona, but Lake steadfastly refuses(link is external) to accept the results of the election. Rather, Lake has endlessly insisted(link is external) to anyone who will listen that she is the "duly elected governor(link is external)," despite the fact that the actual duly elected governor Katie Hobbs was sworn-in(link is external) over a month ago.

On Tuesday, Lake took her complaints to two programs hosted by extreme right-wing broadcasters who have openly called for violence against their perceived political opponents in the past.

Earlier in the day, Lake appeared on(link is external) "The Pete Santilli Show," a program hosted by radical Ohio-based(link is external) broadcaster Pete Santilli who was deeply involved(link is external) in the 2014 Bundy standoff(link is external) and who once declared(link is external) that he wanted to shoot Hillary Clinton “right in the vagina.”

The day before her appearance on his show, Santilli raged against Pfizer's sponsorship of Sunday night’s Grammy Awards(link is external) and openly urged(link is external) his listeners to literally attack Pfizer's production facilities.

"Destroy Pfizer now!" Santilli bellowed. "Do it now. Go over the wall. Get into their frickin' buildings. Unplug all their frickin' equipment. Let's go. It's time to storm the Bastille."

During her appearance on his show, Lake praised Santilli and declared that "our government is corrupt as Hell" while Santilli spent most of the interview fuming that the nation has been overthrown by "a CIA coup."

Lake, for her part, was inclined to agree.

"What you're saying, I'm sure is absolutely true," Lake said. "I haven't looked at all that evidence, but nothing would shock me anymore."

On Tuesday evening, Lake made an appearance(link is external) on "The Stew Peters Show," hosted by white nationalist(link is external) Stew Peters(link is external), who has used(link is external) his nightly program, speeches, and social media accounts(link is external) to spread(link is external) wild(link is external) conspiracy theories(link is external), bigotry(link is external), and calls(link is external) for violence(link is external).

After heaping praise on Peters, Lake railed against the "bastards" who supposedly stole her election, before agreeing with Peters' assertion that "conservative Christians" are being relentlessly oppressed and provoked into unleashing "violence or bloodshed."

"I don't know how much longer the people can take it," Lake warned.

With Lake reportedly(link is external) contemplating(link is external) making a run for the U.S. Senate in 2024, her willingness to associate with radical right-wing figures like Santilli and Peters should be cause for alarm.

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