Arizona voters apologize to Jamaica for Kari Lake

President Donald Trump recently nominated Kari Lake, the failed Arizona Republican candidate for senator and governor, to be US ambassador to Jamaica — and Arizonans are expressing their chagrin.

“The former Phoenix newscaster doesn’t have any obvious connection to the country, other than having vacationed there on repeated occasions, and her history in the public eye evidences a distinct lack of diplomatic tact,” reported Phoenix New Times' Zach Buchanan on Tuesday. “But who knows, maybe the post will fit her like a glove. Maybe it’s not, as many in the political realm see it, an obvious demotion to get a troublesome Trump acolyte out of his orbit.”

Prior to being Trump’s ambassadorial nominee to Jamaica, he tried to appoint as director of Voice of America, an international broadcaster funded by the US government, with the goal of transforming it into a right-wing partisan outlet modeled after One America News (OAN). After a judge ruled her ineligible to serve in that position, Trump pivoted to appointing Lake as ambassador to Jamaica.

"President Trump on Monday appointed Kari Lake, a fierce ally of the president who had led the administration’s efforts to shutter Voice of America and other federally funded news groups, as the next ambassador to Jamaica," the New York Times reported at the time. "Her appointment, if confirmed by the Senate, would end her tumultuous time at the parent agency for federally funded news groups that broadcast to countries with limited press freedom, such as China, Russia and Iran."

Lake was not the only failed MAGA gubernatorial candidate to be awarded an ambassadorship as a consolation prize.

"Lake’s nomination coincided with the president also tapping Pennsylvania’s Doug Mastriano — another prominent Republican election denier who launched a gubernatorial campaign that failed — to serve as U.S. ambassador to Slovakia," MS NOW’s Benen reported at the time. "The far-right state senator will also need to be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate. Time will tell when and whether Lake and Mastriano receive the support they’ll need on Capitol Hill, but their nominations are emblematic of a larger pattern: The White House sure does like to hand out ambassadorships to those whose earlier political plans didn’t quite work out."

Yet while Trump may like the idea of Lake as America’s representative to Jamaica, Buchanan reported that many Arizonans do not feel the same way.

“Said Instagram user bluej1801: ‘My apologies to the good people of Jamaica,’” Buchanan reported. “Added user ‘Little.glimmers: What a kick in the crotch to Jamaica, sheesh.’ User Trejondunkley appeared to take the news hard: ‘As a Jamaican Arizonan, I just gotta ask what I personally did to deserve this.’ User Ciao_sasa had an alternate idea: ‘Mars would be better.’ On Facebook, Atom was thinking along similar lines: ‘OK, and hear me out, but have we considered somewhere more exotic and maybe further away?’ For Troy, the first reaction was perverse curiosity: ‘Can’t wait to hear her patois.’”

Buchanan added, “Jim seemed to recognize the reality of the political machinations at play: ‘Donald is slowly moving her to Antarctica.’ Along those lines, James made fun of Lake’s avowed enthusiasm for the job, although he made a horrible pun in the process: ‘Hey Marco, I’m making Kari Lake an Ambassador to a Caribbean Island!’ ‘Oh, Jamaica?’ ‘No! She WANTS to go!’”