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Jenna Ellis, who once served as an attorney for former President Donald Trump, became involved in a heated online exchange with Kari Lake's campaign Twitter account following a tweet on Thursday night.
The back-and-forth began after Ellis posted an article from People magazine citing anonymous sources who claimed Lake has become a frequent guest at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate while vying to be his running mate for his 2024 presidential run.
"She's couch-surfing at her friend's house like a bum college dropout," Ellis tweeted.
Although she was a senior legal adviser on Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, Ellis has recently come under fire from Trump supporters due to positive remarks she's made about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is shown in national polls to be Trump's top opponent for the GOP nomination in 2024.
Her recent comment about Lake prompted further attacks from fellow conservatives like Caitlyn Jenner and far-right activist Laura Loomer, as well as from Lake's camp.
"We see you've entered the 'school girl gossip' part of your meltdown," a message from Kari Lake War Room, the official campaign account for the former Arizona Governor candidate, read in response to Ellis.
"Yet, here you are, not denying it and so triggered. Need this, Caroline?" Ellis wrote in a tweet that contained a GIF of a book with a message reading "burn book" on the cover while seemingly addressing Caroline Wren, Lake's senior adviser.
Ellis then added in another tweet, "From what wing of the AZ governor's mansion did you tweet this?"
Lake has made numerous failed efforts at challenging the results of the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election. She lost that race to Democrat Katie Hobbs but has since made claims without evidence that the election was rigged against her.
"Jenna, We stopped by to enjoy your well-deserved ratio," Kari Lake War Room wrote of the "burn book" tweet. "Full credit to you. Very entertaining."
She's couch-surfing at her friend's house like a bum college dropout. ?https://t.co/V0RngSxxGe
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) June 22, 2023
Loomer came to Lake's support, tweeting that the failed gubernatorial candidate "is on the list to possibly be VP."
"Trump keeps @KariLake close because she is loyal and effective," Loomer tweeted, before adding an insult about Ellis' divorce.
Jenner, a conservative media personality, also weighed in with disparaging comments about Ellis.
"Many say she's a disgraced, outcasted, grifter. Moreover, it appears she does more harm for our movement than good from her sleepy shady tactics of attacking good God loving conservatives. Keep it up @KariLakeWarRoom she loves the attention she gets from us but sometimes just can't help myself!" Jenner tweeted.
When reached for comment, Ellis replied with a statement.
"If one genuinely believes, as I do, that the woke left is destroying America, then it is difficult to imagine a more profoundly unserious person to help lead the fight to save our country than Kari Lake," Ellis told Newsweek.
She added, "At least Stacey Abrams lives off of rich liberals. Kari Lake, among others, fools poor seniors on fixed incomes into believing they're helping her push for election integrity when, in reality, they're just subsidizing her lifestyle, which apparently now includes couch-surfing at Mar-a-Lago.
"Enough is enough. I am tired of the political correctness preventing Republicans from saying obvious truths. Kari Lake is a political loser who undermines us. The conservative movement shouldn't be a safe space for emotionally fragile grifters—that's what university faculty lounges are for."
Newsweek reached out to Lake via email for comment.
Update 06/22/23 3:05 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from Jenna Ellis.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is a News Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more