11 Oct 19th–Oct 25th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | presidents have limited abilities to impact gas prices. Based on Lake’s speech, border security and drug trafficking also will be major plat- forms of her campaign. She decried the increase of fentanyl trafficked into the U.S. and brought onto the stage the mother of a young man who died from accidentally taking fentanyl. “The solution is so darn simple. Go back to President Trump’s border policy and finish the wall,” Lake said. Yet the Trump administration only added 52 new miles of walls on the nearly 3,000 mile southern border. In addition, fentanyl deaths began to soar while Trump was in office. Trying out new messaging for size During the governor’s race in 2022, Lake leaned into extremist rhetoric. This time, she tested some slightly more moderate messages about common right-wing griev- ances, such as election security and abortion. “I don’t care who you vote for,” Lake said. “If you vote Democrat or if you vote Republican, that’s between you, God and the ballot box.” A few people clapped, and an audible groan came from the front of the audience. But Lake hasn’t backed away fully from the idea that recent elections have been deeply flawed. “I am never going to walk away from the fight to restore honest elec- tions,” she said of the phantom issue that has gripped Republican minds since Trump’s loss in 2020. But she did not offer specifics on the problems or what she would work to change. Lake has filed multiple lawsuits alleging significant fraud in the 2022 election, but courts have rejected her claims because she has failed to present evidence to support her allegations. During her rally, Lake made no mention of her own defeat in the race last year, which she still has not acknowledged. Lake also walked a political high-wire act on abortion. In an unlikely departure from her own party’s rhetoric, she suggested giving more government assis- tance to women so they don’t feel financial pressure to have an abortion. “We gotta get our priorities straight. If we’re gonna be for saving babies’ lives, we gotta be for helping women,” Lake said. That assistance would likely mean more government spending, something for which Republicans have little appetite. Lake linked the funding to U.S. aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia and said that money could be better spent on assisting mothers. “I can’t imagine walking into an abor- tion clinic, thinking I can’t afford the baby so I’m gonna take my baby’s life,” she said. “Can you imagine having an abortion and going home and turning on the news and seeing that Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Biden just sent $10 billion more to Ukraine?” Lake humbled by Trump endorsement Lake stuck to her bread and butter rhetoric when it came to attacking the media, a tactic she used throughout her campaign in 2022. “Do you notice how [ journalists] like to build up the warmongers and liars and tear down the peacemakers and the truth- tellers,” she said. In the past, Lake has insinuated to her followers to commit violent acts against Trump’s prosecutors and political opponents. Toward the end of the speech, a comi- cally large “Wizard of Oz”-like projection of Trump appeared behind Lake. As he endorsed her candidacy, she stood directly in front of the image to return the gaze in devotion. “I’m humbled,” Lake said. “I don’t think he’s ever done that before right out of the gates.” Supporters of Kari Lake carried signs that depicted her as Rosie the Riveter, a cultural icon who represented women working industrial jobs during World War II. (Photo by TJ L’Heureux) Try, Try Again from p 9
