Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake (R) told a British journalist she thinks the reporter needs her “head examined” after the journalist pressed Lake on her claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Reporter Emily Maitlis, one of three hosts of British podcast “The News Agents,” grilled the Arizona Republican on her claims of election fraud during the interview.
“You falsely claimed that Trump won in 2020, you called for the imprisonment of those who accepted Trump’s defeat, including your own opponent in Arizona, Katie Hobbs — why did you do that?” Maitlis asked, in a clip of the interview highlighted by Mediaite.
“Well, I’m not going to sit here and go through all of the evidence of what happened,” Lake responded.
Lake repeatedly argued widespread voter fraud impacted the 2020 election results during her gubernatorial campaign in 2022. She also denied the results of the Arizona governor’s race when she lost to now-Gov. Katie Hobbs (D).
The Arizona Republican has racked up legal fees over such claims. Her legal team was ordered to pay more than $122,000 in sanctions in July 2023 over its “frivolous” lawsuit contesting voting methods.
Lake blasted Maitlis later in the interview for asserting she is at least partially responsible for “inflaming the political rhetoric” in the U.S., arguing the British reporter was advancing “fake news.”
“You don’t know a damn thing about Arizona,” Lake said. “You don’t know one thing about our election. And you sit there with a smirk on your face. You’re sitting over in England, in the U.K., in a country that’s being destroyed.”
Maitlis later concluded the interview by asking Lake if she would accept the results of the upcoming election should Trump lose.
“I actually think you need your head examined,” Lake responded, refusing to provide an answer.
Lake is facing Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) for the state’s Senate seat held by retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I). The Democrat currently has a 3.3 percent lead over Lake in The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of polls.