Kari Lake, the former TV news anchor and U.S. Senate candidate, used a moment of her speaking slot at the Republican National Convention to express a common theme: Bashing the media.
“Welcome to everybody in this great arena tonight. We love you all. Actually, actually, wait a minute. I don’t mean that. I don’t welcome everybody in this room. The guys up in the fake news,” she said, motioning to the press areas. “Frankly, you guys up there in the fake news have worn out your welcome. … You have spent the last eight years lying about President Donald Trump and his amazing patriotic supporters.”
The crowd cheered at the comments, which have become a typical aspect of Trump events. But national party conventions actually thrive from the economic impact of the thousands of journalists who attend and the media exposure for what is essentially a one-week advertisement for the candidate and the candidate’s party.
Lake refused to concede her gubernatorial race in 2022, but she has lost multiple court election challenges.
Safety of journalists is a concern at the conventions, as it was during the last in-person events in 2016.
Last week, Emily Wilkins, the president of the National Press Club, released a statement on the safety of reporters that called on convention speakers “to refrain from language that could inflame those in the streets against journalists.”
Lake is seeking the Arizona U.S. Senate seat held by Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who is not running for re-election. The Republican and Democratic primaries are July 30.
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