'Unhinged' Kari Lake clashes with former GOP strategist at MAGA event

23 December 2024

Although Republicans flipped the U.S. Senate in the 2024 election and ousted longtime Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jon Tester of Montana and Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, there was a bright spot in Arizona's Senate race — which found Democratic Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego defeating far-right MAGA Republican and conspiracy theorist Kari Lake.

Gallego, in January, will be taking over the seat presently held by outgoing centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (a former Democrat turned independent).

Lake has lost two statewide races in Arizona — first the 2022 gubernatorial race, then the state's 2024 U.S. Senate race — but President-elect Donald Trump hasn't forgotten about her. Trump picked Lake to head the Voice of America.

In a column published by The Bulwark on December 22, Never Trump conservative and former GOP strategist Tim Miller describes his encounter with Lake at a recent event hosted by far-right MAGA Republican James O'Keefe. Lake, according to Miller, made it clear that she wasn't the least bit happy to see him.

Lake, Miller says, angrily told him, "Don't touch me," described him as "fake news" and a "liar," and repeatedly said, "You are a piece of s--t."

"Conspiracist" Laura Loomer, according to Miller, was among the attendees and intervened.

"Loomer made her way through the crowd of onlookers, stood next to Lake and echoed her assessment that I was a lying POS, but in a tone that was more appropriate for a public gathering," Miller recalls. "Loomer's calm disdain, mixed with curiosity about my presence, seemed to cause Lake's manic rage to peter out. Throughout Kari's tirade, I think I mostly smiled awkwardly. Though who can say? Unless she releases the video, I can't be sure what I looked like."

Miller stresses that although Loomer wasn't glad to see him, she didn't lose her cool — unlike Lake.

"The Lake exchange, while frivolous and a quite a bit cray, was telling," Miller argues. "Her behavior was the most unhinged — by far — of anyone I encountered. But it reflected the broader vibe I got from the attendees: People just didn't seem as happy and fulfilled as I expected."

Tim Miller's full column for The Bulwark is available at this link.

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