Speculation Erupts After Kari Lake and Donald Trump Are Photographed Together
Arizona Republican Kari Lake was spotted Thursday with former President Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, stirring rumors about the possibility of her being chosen as Trump’s 2024 running mate.
Lake said she was in Florida looking into possible voter disenfranchisement in the Arizona gubernatorial race, which has been called for her opponent, Democrat Katie Hobbs. Lake has not yet conceded the race
On Monday, the Associated Press called the race and announced that Hobbs won. It was a close contest between Lake and Hobbs, with Lake taking 49.67 percent of the vote, while Hobbs took 50.33 percent, 270towin reported.
But with the voting machine issues that arose in Maricopa County on Election Day, Lake said she wants to look into legal issues behind voting, the AP reported.
On Nov. 8, about 20 to 30 percent of voting locations in Maricopa County — Arizona’s most populated county — ran into problems with the vote tabulating machines, the Arizona Republic reported.
Lake has been complaining about this issue and on Thursday, she tweeted a video claiming that voters in Arizona had been disenfranchised.
“Our election officials failed us miserably,” Lake said.
“Rest assured, I have assembled the best and brightest legal team, and we are exploring every avenue to correct the many wrongs that have been done this past week. I’m doing everything in my power to right these wrongs,” she added.
Arizona, we are still in the fight. pic.twitter.com/ytaGvqG5J0
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) November 17, 2022
Lake then traveled to Mar-a-Lago on Thursday to see Trump, who endorsed her and has been a strong ally to her throughout the gubernatorial race, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In light of Trump’s announcement on Tuesday that he would be running for president again in 2024, Lake’s visit to Trump shifted some of the focus off of the Arizona gubernatorial fight, and some began to speculate about Trump and Lake teaming up in 2024.
When Lake entered a lunch at Mar-a-Lago which was being hosted by America First Policy Institute, she received a standing ovation, the Washington Post reported.
Though Lake said she is still fighting in Arizona, the buzz caused by seeing Trump and Lake together has many thinking her political future may go in a different direction.
“Lake was frequently discussed as a potential vice-presidential pick for Trump, although she maintained on the campaign trail that she intended to serve a full term as governor if elected. Now that she’s been defeated for state office, her political path is less clear,” the Post noted.
Across Twitter, GOP and Trump supporters have been happy about seeing pictures of Lake and Trump.
One Twitter user posted a picture of Trump and Lake together with the caption, “Trump, Kari Lake, Bolsonaro – let’s go.”
Trump, Kari Lake, Bolsonaro – let’s go pic.twitter.com/1q5VHPApoC
— Kingsley Cortes (@KingsleyCortes) November 18, 2022
“@KariLake if worse comes to worse, Kari Lake will be available to campaign full-time for Vice President of the United States 2024,” another user posted on Thursday.
@KariLake if worse comes to worse, Kari Lake will be available to campaign full-time for Vice President of the United States 2024.
— KAT (@KatFalk) November 17, 2022
Trump has made no comments regarding a possible running mate.
Meanwhile, Lake is still busy fighting in Arizona.
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