President-elect Donald Trump has selected former Arizona Senate candidate and MAGA ally Kari Lake to lead the U.S.’s state media outlet Voice of America.
The former TV anchor-turned-politico was announced as the incoming Voice of America (VOA) director by Trump on Wednesday evening.
‘I am pleased to announce that Kari Lake will serve as our next Director of the Voice of America,’ the Republican posted on Truth Social.
‘She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World fairly and accurately, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media.’
‘Kari was a beloved News Anchor in Arizona, which supported me by record margins, for over 20 years. Congratulations Kari!’
The perch atop the U.S. propaganda arm is in-line with Lake’s prior experience having worked at a Phoenix TV station, KSAZ, from 1999 – 2021, when she decided to run for governor and ultimately lost to Katie Hobbs.
VOA is a federal government-run international broadcaster that operates in more than 40 languages. It operates a presence online, on radios and on TV.
The post is substantially less important than another role she was reportedly in consideration for, however, having apparently been in the running to be the U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
Former Arizona Senate and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake was selected by Trump to become director of Voice of America
Kari Lake (left) was being considered to be President-elect Donald Trump’s ambassador to Mexico. She lost an Arizona Senate race in November after losing her gubernatorial race in 2022, falsely claiming the election had been stolen
Kari Lake (right) campaigns with now President-elect Donald Trump (left) in Arizona in October. Lake heralds from a border state and shared similar views on immigration as the incoming president
Citing two sources, Semafor reported Monday that Lake is being considered for what could be one of the most taxing ambassadorships of Trump’s term.
Lake heralds from a border state but was twice rejected by Arizona voters.
She ran for governor in 2022 and lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs and then lost her Senate race in 2024 to Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego.
Lake pushed that her 2022 election was rigged, after parroting Trump’s false election fraud claims after he lost the 2020 White House race to President Joe Biden.
Her embrace of Trump’s ‘big lie’ made her a MAGA celebrity and frequent guest at Mar-a-Lago.
The Arizona Republican was also a mainstay on Trump’s campaign whenever he visited the battleground state.
At several rallies of his in the state she repeated his tough on immigration stance and excited crowds by pledging to build more border wall.
Now her appointment to director of VOA will force Lake to move to Washington, D.C. to oversee the agency’s daily operations.
Arizona Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake speaks with the media outside the Mesa Convention Center polling place on November 05, 2024 in Mesa, Arizona
The Voice of America building in Washington
The VOA has just about 1,000 employees and its 2023 budget was around $267 million dollars.
According to the VOA site, the agency can reach over 300 million people across all platforms.
The VOA is part of the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
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