Trump-endorsed Arizona Senatorial candidate Kari Lake, who famously told McCain Republicans to “get the hell out” at a campaign event in 2022 while running for governor, said on Monday that her derogatory comments regarding the late war hero and U.S. Senator John McCain were made in jest.
Her joking included: “The GOP was the party of McCain — it was bad. Arizona has delivered some losers, haven’t they?”
This is who Kari really is.pic.twitter.com/c7NcK0vcaJ
— Queen of Donuts (@DonutsQueen2) February 20, 2024
Lake said on the radio show “Outspoken with Bruce and Gaydos” on KTAR News: “It was said in jest. And I think that if John McCain, who had a great sense of humor, would have heard it, he would have laughed.”
Lake, who is running for incumbent Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema‘s seat, added: “I want everyone’s vote, whether you are a McCain … if you call yourself a McCain Republican, if you call yourself a middle-of-the-road Republican, a Trump Republican, an America First Republican, I want your vote.”
Kari Lake is trying to walk back her continued attacks on my Dad (& family) and all of his loyal supporters after telling them to “get the hell out”. Guess she realized she can’t become a Senator without us.
No peace, bitch. We see you for who you are – and are repulsed by it.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) February 20, 2024
McCain’s daughter, political pundit Meghan McCain, reacted to Lake’s claim that she was joking by writing: “Kari Lake is trying to walk back her continued attacks on my Dad (& family) and all of his loyal supporters after telling them to ‘get the hell out’. Guess she realized she can’t become a Senator without us.”
McCain added: “No peace, b*****. We see you for who you are – and are repulsed by it.”
Note: In the KTAR interview on Monday, Lake — who continues to claim that the 2022 gubernatorial election was stolen from her (her Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs won) — said “I don’t know who exactly stole the election, but there are a lot of people who are running elections poorly, and we’ve seen the results.”