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Former Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has dubbed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis a "phony" for correctly stating that ex-President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.
DeSantis, who is trailing Trump by a wide margin in the race for the 2024 Republican nomination but remains his most formidable challenger, told NBC News on Monday that "of course" the former president lost the last election, despite repeated claims to the contrary by Trump and many of his allies. The governor also told reporters in Iowa last week that Trump's conspiracy theories of massive election fraud "did not prove to be true."
Lake, a staunch proponent of Trump's election claims who also falsely claims that fraud was to blame for her loss to Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs in 2022, discussed the Florida governor's recent remarks during a Monday interview with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. He slammed DeSantis for what she said was a lackluster turnout on the campaign trail in Iowa before calling him "disgusting" and a "backstabber" for admitting that President Joe Biden won in 2020.
"I saw a little bit of [DeSantis' NBC interview] ... disgusting," Lake said on Bannon's War Room podcast. "I'll tell you what, the people of Iowa don't like backstabbers. I'm from Iowa, I grew up there. They can smell a phony from a mile away. They've determined that Ron's a phony."
"He's got to buy endorsements, spending all that big donor money, wasting it," she continued. "When he really should be supporting [former] President Trump ... this is about saving our country."
Lake went on to argue that supporting Trump's 2024 bid, which is happening at the same time that the ex-president is facing 78 federal and state felony charges, is synonymous with being "pro-America."
Newsweek reached out for comment to the DeSantis campaign via press contact form on Monday night.
Lake, a potential 2024 running mate for Trump, said in a statement last week that GOP presidential candidates other than the former president must suspend their campaigns immediately and rally behind Trump or "we will lose this country forever."
Prior to Trump's 2024 campaign, Lake frequently praised DeSantis. She said that the governor was "fantastic" during a Turning Point USA conference last year, asserting that he rivaled Trump in "BDE"—which she jokingly said stood for "Big DeSantis Energy."
Lake has been anything but complimentary toward the governor more recently. Months before DeSantis officially launched his presidential campaign, Lake suggested that he was not ready for "the world stage" while arguing that it was still Trump's "turn."
During a Newsmax interview shortly before DeSantis launched his campaign in May, Lake took shots at the governor's presidential ambitions and his long culture war battle with Disney, saying that he had no hope of defeating Trump if he can't even "beat Donald Duck."
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more