In this episode of Better for America, Rebecca Weber speaks with Kari Lake, Arizona’s Republican Senate candidate, about her top priorities and the challenges facing the state. Lake emphasizes the urgent need to secure the southern border, warning that illegal immigration is straining the economy and endangering public safety: “We cannot afford what Joe Biden has allowed to happen.” She pledges to deport undocumented migrants and protect Social Security, stating that “granting mass amnesty would bankrupt the system.” Lake also criticizes her opponent, Ruben Gallego, accusing him of radical policies, saying, “He makes AOC look conservative.” She alleges that his family has cartel ties and highlights his past votes to defund the police, oppose the border wall, and approve reckless spending that fueled inflation. Additionally, Lake stresses the importance of election integrity, urging Republicans to vote in overwhelming numbers to “make it too big to rig.” She closes by calling on voters to pray, stay engaged, and support her campaign to counter Gallego’s funding from left-wing donors.
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Full Episode Transcript:
Kari Lake: His father was a convicted Mexican drug trafficker. His family has ties to the cartel. This is dangerous stuff. We have a very dangerous person. He’s wanted to defund the police. He’s actually wanted to get rid of the filibuster to pass the George Floyd legislation, which would have defunded the police.
I’ve been fighting really hard personally, myself, trying to improve our elections so that all voters can have faith in them, that they’re run properly. And I wish I could tell you right now, everything’s fine. We’ve fixed everything, but we have. The bottom line is we got to make it too big to rig, as President Trump says.
That means everyone’s got to get out and vote.
Rebecca Weber: Republicans are eager for a turnaround in Arizona, following a number of setbacks in recent years. However, despite the seeming leftward trend of the state, there are signs that Republicans are well positioned for a resurgence this year. Joining me now is Republican Arizona Senate candidate, Carrie Lake.
Carrie, welcome back to the show. It’s great to have you with me.
Kari Lake: It’s always good to be on with you. Thanks for having me.
Rebecca Weber: thank you. Carrie, if you are elected to the U. S. Senate, what would be your top three priorities in 2025?
Kari Lake: I’m so glad you said three. Usually people say your top one priority and there’s so many problems right now that we’re facing.
And thank you for giving me some, leeway here to talk about what’s important to Arizonans, the border. And I say the border number one, because the border actually affects. the economy as well. This wide open border. So securing the border and making sure that we get the people who have poured across unvetted illegally in the Biden invasion the past 3.
5 years and we send them back to their homeland. We cannot afford what Joe Biden has allowed to happen. And so we are our social security, our Medicare can’t Afford it. Our economy can’t afford it. We are having to pay more for housing because of all these people who poured in illegally, and we’re finding out many of them are convicted criminals, and we’ve seen it with the crime right surging.
And then I want to work on restoring that very strong, vibrant Trump economy. And to do that, it’s going to mean reshoring manufacturing back to Arizona and America, bringing back good jobs, high paying jobs for our citizens and hopefully getting to where people don’t have to work two jobs anymore just to get by.
We want to make sure that people have good, high paying jobs and also bringing back and restoring that strong energy sector that we had under President Trump. When we bring the price of energy down, we bring the price of everything down. And then I want to add one more. If I can, I’m a mom and I care deeply about our children.
I’m worried about our kids right now. The stuff that they’re being subjected to, not only in culture, but in school, you know, we used to teach the ABCs and the one, two threes. And now it’s C R T D E I. And a bunch of crazy stuff when it comes to sex and gender that yeah. Our kids just don’t need to hear in school.
And so I want to get back on course with really strong, educate a world class education. We pour a ton of money into it. I want to make sure that what we’re seeing some results for that money that we’re pouring in our kids are our future. And we have to make sure that we’re educating them for the world.
Rebecca Weber: You know, you just touched on that’s right and you’ve touched on the issues that matter most to AMAC members. certainly the wide open border leads to all kinds of trouble, you know, it’s skyrocketing crime, drugs on our streets, human trafficking. the wide open border is certainly a major issue and of course economy.
But I love that you’re talking about You’re focused on the children as well. So important. I think it’s important for listeners to know and voters to understand that your opponent is an extremist. what, do you think is the most important thing for, voters to know about your opponent as they head to the polls?
Kari Lake: where do I begin? let’s, you know, he’s got a hundred million dollars in ads. They’re trying to give him an extreme makeover and make him look moderate and paint him as a cross between Mr. Rogers and G. I. Joe. He makes AOC look conservative. He’s to the left of AOC. He was a leader in the progressive caucus.
That’s where all the horrible ideas that we go, who comes up with this stuff? That’s where they originate. He’s voted against the border wall, calls it a dumb, stupid border wall. Now he’s trying to act like he likes the border wall. He voted to impeach president Trump twice, and now he’s trying to act like he likes president Trump.
And he’s voted for these outrageous, all of these votes that have destroyed our economy. The America rescue plan. American rescue plan should have been called the American Destruction Plan because that’s what triggered the inflation and the cost of living going up. And they even got a warning, Obama’s, Obama’s treasury secretary said, do not pass this legislation.
We will see inflation skyrocket and prices will go up and it’ll be crippling to our economy. And they did it anyway, Kamala and my opponent, you know, and I want to talk personally a little bit about him because I think character does matter. He’s been offensive and harassing women since the beginning.
He had a, a harassment claim against him, when he worked at city hall and he got the woman fired, he was aggressive with her. And then he had a sexual harassment claim when he was down at the legislature. And I’ve been told that people run screaming and crying out of his office all the time. He’s a very hostile human being.
His father was a convicted Mexican. Drug trafficker. His family has ties to the cartel. This is dangerous stuff. Once you’re in the cartel, you’re never out. And I think the people need to be warned. We have a very dangerous person. He’s wanted to defund the police. He’s actually wanted to get rid of the filibuster to pass the George Floyd legislation, which would have defunded the police.
And when you look at his family history, it makes sense how he’s been voting because he’s been voting to open the border. And empower the cartel. We need to take on the cartel. I think that the cartels are the most dangerous entity facing our country. and our national security. They’re not just running drugs anymore.
They’re sex trafficking Children. We’ve lost track of 350, 000 Children who’ve been trafficked across the border, and the Democrats have done nothing to try to find them to find out if they’re safe. I’m so worried about those kids, and I don’t want to see this kind of trafficking coming across my state’s border Arizona.
Rebecca Weber: Yes, And it is, you know, I hold legacy media, major news media accountable for misinforming the American public. And then, of course, we have national Democrats who are really leaning heavily on these false claims that a Republican victory would mean a blanket ban on abortion. So it seems that A lot of people are not getting to the truth.
It’s one of the reasons why we do this show. and I’m so glad that you’re speaking to his character, because this is important and you’re not going to get that information other places. You know, this is not what you’re going to see here or read, you know, on CNN and MSNBC. he
Kari Lake: spent 40 million, in a, in abortion attack ads on me, lying, saying that I would ban abortion.
That’s not true. I’ve, said it many times. I’m running for us Senate. It’s. It’s not going to be decided by the U. S. Senate. I agree with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She said it needs to be decided by the states. The Supreme Court brought it back down to the states. But when she was of justice, she said, this is a state’s issue.
Now it’s going to fall into the hands of the people of Arizona. We will be deciding, What our abortion policy is. We get the, we as voters get to choose what our abortion policy will be. And he wants to take that choice away, take it back to the federal government in a back room with Chuck Schumer and decide what our abortion law will be.
Can you imagine? Can’t we provide a little bit of both of those for women so that more women can keep their baby? I don’t want to have any woman walking into an abortion clinic because she can’t afford her baby. And I can’t even fathom making that choice, that difficult choice, and then walking out onto the street, leaving the abortion clinic, and finding out that Ruben Gallego just approved and voted for another 60 billion to Ukraine, and you don’t think you can afford your baby.
This is how backwards our world is right now.
Rebecca Weber: It is so backwards and, you know, I, those claims, that, that abortion is not the way, the path that most women want to take. it’s a last resort and they feel it’s an only resort, yet the Democrats will make you, they’ll label it as healthcare when we know in fact that is not caring for women.
so I agree with you on all fronts and our membership is largely very much so pro life. So very important that you’re pointing that extremism out as well in your opponent. I want to talk for a moment about election integrity because in 2020, we saw five states, including Arizona, they narrowly flipped red.
I’m sorry, from red Two blue, and one of those states being Arizona, but so many people questioned the election process in 2020, and there were serious concerns about election integrity. So with election integrity top of mind for many folks in Arizona, how is Arizona leading in the fight to really secure Arizona’s elections?
Kari Lake: Boy, we have been fighting really hard and I’ve been fighting really hard personally myself trying to improve our elections so that all voters can have faith in them, that they’re run properly. And I wish I could tell you right now everything’s fine, we’ve fixed everything, but we haven’t. It’s been a, it’s been a fight.
What, we have done is shown the public How they have been cheating and how they have been running elections unlawfully. And so now, I believe we’ve made it harder for them to do that. And, but the bottom line is we got to make it too big to rig. As president Trump says, that means everyone’s got to get out and vote.
We can’t get in and fix and, reform elections so that they are honest All voters, whether they’re Democrat or Republican, have faith in them until we win the election. So we got to get out there and make it too big to rig. That’s why we’re encouraging Arizonans to go get your ballot out of your mailbox.
Get that sent back in if you can. And as much as I hate the drop boxes, put it in a drop box. I think it’s better option than USPS. I always ask people, would you put 500 or 1, 000 in cash in an envelope and send it through the post office? And most of them say, no, I say, we’ll treat your ballot the same way.
Drop it off down at the recorder’s office, bring it to a voting center and hand it off there. It’s a better option. And, and let’s make this too big to Rick. Nobody sits home. I know that even though things aren’t perfect, we can’t sit home and pout and say, then I’m not going to vote. We have to get out and vote.
Our country is depending on us. The world’s depending on us getting this right. I have people from overseas friends. Who text me or call me and say, please tell me America is going to save the world right now and get Donald Trump back in office. And that’s really what we’re up against. the thought of, America collapsing.
If we don’t get this election,
Rebecca Weber: That’s exactly right. And as you know, AMAC represents over 2 million seniors. Many are worried about the future of social security. You mentioned that earlier. Both Social Security and Medicare, and we see the threat, you know, keeping a wide open border and granting mass amnesty to tens of millions of people would bankrupt Social Security.
What would you do to help ensure that we can preserve these important benefits for our seniors?
Kari Lake: I want to let everybody know, because I know they’re putting all these ads out that the Republicans will destroy, that it’s an insurance plan that you paid into. And the fact of the matter is it’s going to be the Democrats that do it.
They want to take these millions of people who poured in, put them on Medicare that will destroy, that will collapse the whole system and there’ll be nothing left. And so we can’t allow that. And that’s why we have to take the border seriously. Repatriate these millions who poured in under Biden back to their homeland.
Bolster social security. You paid into it. And you’re going to get your benefit from that. It’s, an insurance program. Imagine paying into your insurance and then it’s not there when you finally need it. So we’re going to make sure we protect that. There’s a million other places we can cut. Trust me, we can cut so many different things.
Look at the, I can think of one right off the top of my head, Kamala Harris and my opponent. They want taxpayers and our budget to pay for sex change, Surgeries for illegal immigrants who are in prison. This is crazy stuff. That’s the kind of crazy stuff that they put in our budget and we have to pay for.
Let’s get rid of all of that garbage in our budget, but let’s protect social security. We’re not touching it. We’re not going to have to solve a budget crisis on the backs of hardworking people who are senior citizens who’ve earned that and we’re not going to do that. There’s a million other ways to cut.
We’re going to have to cut a lot of wasteful spending, but we’re also going to have to grow our way out of it, and that’s going to bring in more revenues, and that’ll help bolster not only social security, but Medicare, and we’re going to have to grow our way out of it. And I know one president who can help us grow our way out of it.
That’s president Trump. He’s going to reform our economy so that we’re not living boom to bust, that it’s just a solid economy. I trust him to do that job. That’s why I support him and always have. And that’s why I’m looking forward to getting to Washington, DC and working with him. I do love that.
He’s saying no taxes on social security. I support that wholeheartedly, and I support keeping the Trump tax cuts. My opponent wants to get rid of them. If we got rid of them, every Arizona would have to pay on average 2, 700 more per year in taxes. And I don’t think there’s a single Arizona who can afford that, especially not right now.
Rebecca Weber: Yes, and all of these crazy spending plans that we see coming out of the Biden Harris administration are really taxing on the middle class. It’s the middle class that winds up really paying for it. So as much as they want to, talk about, you know, taxing the rich, that’s not going to solve the problem and lift the burden that average, everyday, ordinary Americans are facing, so, important and I, love what you’re saying.
AMAC has about 73, 000 members in Arizona and so many of them have become poll watchers. They’re helping to get out. They’re getting out the vote. but for those who really want to get more involved, what would you suggest that they do right now to help ensure that Republicans can take back Arizona on November 5th?
Kari Lake: you know, I’m really impressed with the ground game that Turning Point Action has. They are actually, people from other states are coming out, they’re putting them up in hotels, and we’re going out and chasing ballots. We’re not gonna let one ballot die on someone’s kitchen countertop. We gotta get those ballots turned in.
And if you can’t do that, you can’t fly out here and stay for, you know, the next 20 days and help us out, call your friends in Arizona. Let them know how important this is. Go to our Twitter page or our Facebook page, find the debate. Send them the debate between Ruben Gallego, and I think it’s very clear, which person knows Arizona more, knows the issues more, and has the solutions to our problems.
The Democrats don’t want solutions. They want to just pour money at the symptoms. They cause the problem. And then they pour money at the symptoms never dealing with the root of the problem It was so funny my opponent last night wants to continue to fund by the hundreds of millions these ngos that are helping not helping that are transporting people and helping in the Movement of all of these people across our country and I said, why don’t we just secure the border?
Then we don’t have to send hundreds of millions to the ngos It’s pretty basic Yes, that’s what I would tell people across the country in Arizona. Get your ballots turned in our countries, depending on us here in Arizona to get this right and keep hold me and President Trump in prayer. There’s so much coming at us every day and truly, some very dark forces that are at work right now.
And so we need prayers. We need votes and if you can make a donation, I’m being 1 by this guy. He’s got the Soros money and a bunch of leftist billionaires behind him. So I could use, you know, five or 10 bucks. If you have it, Carrie Lake. com help us get across the finish line. It would help me immensely.
Rebecca Weber: thank you. your tenacity, your perseverance, you’re such a hard working woman. and here, you know, your, far left Democrat opponent, Gallego, he’s voted for hyperinflation. He voted for the border catastrophe, for this gender craziness. he’s voted for destroying women’s sports.
He’s for men in women’s locker rooms. He’s for denying parental rights. He’s for weakening the military. So I think the choice is so crystal clear and, you know, Carrie, we know the lies of the left can’t withstand the light of truth. We really applaud you for focusing your campaign on what matters most to voters in Arizona.
And we do, we pray for you and wish you the very best of luck. Such a pleasure to have you join me today. Thank you so much for being here.
Kari Lake: Thank you so much. And I appreciate all the work you do. Thank you.
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Kari Lake is going to loose AZ for us with her radical abortion crap. Sad but true.Doug
Really good discussion. We love the USA !
As far as I know Kari still backs Trump in saying that he won the 2020 election & the AG Barr at the time under Trump did not find the fraud claimed by Trump. And there is speculation that Kari Lake will claim fraud if she does not win 2024 election. It is time to stop with THE ONLY WAY I LOSE IS IF ELECTION IS RIGGED as that is getting old . For your info, every election usually has a winner and a loser!
The problem as an Arizonan that I see is Gallego, has the financial backing of Soros, and the physical backing of the entire Democratic Party. Arizona is still a state that was ‘WON’ (by cheating) by the democrats in 2020 and 2022. Soros and his democrat ilk, really want Arizona to be blue. So even though we are strongly leaning red for President … cheating is expected and a lot of it, to pass honest republican votes.
I use to live in Arizona. Before this crazy demonic stuff. A friend of mine who is there shared that she though Kari is campaigning too much in the upper areas of the state and she needs to be campaigning down more in the Phoenix area. Just sharing an Arizonians; thought.