Kari Lake slams ‘the corrupt swamp’ of DC and says her campaign is ‘good versus evil’ as blasts DeWit for not apologizing to the people of Arizona over the blackmail tape
Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake said Wednesday that her campaign was “a battle between good and evil,” lashing out at the “corruption” of the political establishment that tried to convince her to leave politics.
Lake, a staunchly pro-Trump former TV news anchor, held a live Q&A on social media after a tumultuous few days.
On Tuesday, DailyMail.com published audio of Arizona Republican Party head Jeff DeWit offering her money to quit politics. The clip was recorded in March 2023, four months after her failed bid to become governor of Arizona and as she was considering her political future.
On Wednesday, DeWit resigned and accused Lake’s team of blackmailing him.
Lake said Wednesday night that DeWit’s conduct was evidence of the “corruption” plaguing the United States and quashed his resignation letter — noting that he made no apology to the people of Arizona.
Kari Lake, seen in November 2022 campaigning for governor of Arizona, said Wednesday night that she was “disgusted” by efforts to convince her to leave politics
Jeff DeWit, the chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, resigned Wednesday after audio surfaced of him pressuring Lake to leave politics.
She said the scene at her home that day in March, captured in an audio recording, “almost felt like it was a movie, it didn’t seem real.”
Lake, 54, said DeWit’s actions showed her campaign was a fight “to save our country” from the political establishment.
“This is really a battle between good and evil that we’re fighting,” she said, adding, “I know we’re all exhausted, we’re all tired.
“The corruption I’ve seen in this person, I don’t think there’s anyone worse.”
Lake, who has two children with her husband Jeff Halperin, a former cameraman, said her daughter Ruby was shocked by the audio when it surfaced Tuesday.
“My daughter was listening in and she was gasping,” Lake said, adding that she had somewhat forgotten the seriousness of the conversation.
“It’s one of the worst things I’ve heard.”
Kari Lake on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit after DailyMail.com published audio last year of the moment he tried to bribe her not to run for Senate.
DeWit claims he was faced with an “ultimatum” and decided to resign from his position
In the audio, DeWit asks Lake how much money it would cost to retire from politics, saying that people from the “East” have asked him to approach her.
DeWit asks, “Is there a number where…” before Lake interrupts and says, “I can be bought?”
He replies, “Don’t be bought,” but instead wait a few years before running away.
Lake dismissed the attempts, saying they would “have to kill me” to derail her political ambition, and that she wouldn’t even accept a billion dollars.
DeWit persists and asks her to name an amount.
“That’s immoral; I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror,” she says.
DeWit admitted in his resignation letter Wednesday that he “said things I regret” — but accused Lake of “selective editing” and staging the recording.
“Contrary to the bribery allegations, my conversations were transparent and intended to provide perspective, not coercion,” he said.
He said he suspected Lake had prepared for this situation and “conceived her performance responses” during the conversation, with the intention of releasing the recording later.
Lake responded by saying there was no way she could have rehearsed when he showed up at her house.
Jeff DeWit and his wife Marina with President Donald Trump. DeWit was elected chairman of the Republican Party of Arizona last year. Shortly afterwards, he urged Kari Lake to step back from politics for two years. “There are very powerful people who want to keep you out,” he told you
DeWit accused Lake of trying to frame him when he resigned as state party chairman
On Wednesday, Lake said she did not know who was behind DeWit’s request to quit.
“I lay awake thinking about who it could have been, what group, what person,” she said.
“Washington DC – the people back east, he said – is so corrupt that you can literally name hundreds of people behind this.
“We cannot allow this kind of corruption to happen in Washington DC.
“It starts in DC and moves to statehouses, to municipalities.
‘They put themselves forward and are immediately bribed and blackmailed.’
When asked by someone online if she feared for her safety, Lake said it “comes with the territory now” and asked people to pray for her.
“We are now in an era where the world is dangerous,” she said, recounting how she regularly found flat tires during the 2022 campaign.
“I recently received emails saying they want to take me down and ‘neutralize’ me,” she said.
‘We don’t live in normal times. People want to stop you. Because you are effective.’
And she emphasized that America needed to re-elect Donald Trump to “save” the United States, saying only Trump would secure the border and put American interests first.
“I’m away, I’m on the run, not because I love politics – as you know it’s really disgusting – but because I love our country,” she said.
“I’m going to go to Washington DC, overturn the apple cart, set it on fire and start implementing policies that help American families, American children and national security.”