Unsuccessful Republican gubnernatorial candidate Kari Lake gave a ranting speech this weekend in which she labelled herself a “proud election-denying deplorable” before urging young supporters to procreate and calling Anthony Fauci an “evil elf.”
Ms Lake ran for governor of Arizona earlier this year and was defeated by Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Ms Lake called Ms Hobbs a “nutjob” on Sunday at AmericaFest, a Turning Point USA conference of conservatives that was held in Phoenix.
Ms Lake is currently fighting the election result in the courts. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge on Monday was hearing arguments about whether to dismiss the suit.
One day earlier, Lake continued repeating disproven claims of election stealing from the AmFest stage.
“I know that right now we can identify as anything we want to identify as, but I want you to know that I identify as a proud election denying deplorable,” she told a heavily Millenial and Gen-Z crowd. “Are you with me?”
She added: “My pronouns are: I won.”
When Lake initially took the microphone, she railed against the mainstream media, complaining that journalists were “not covering” the conference - then, confusingly, immediately told attendees to turn around and wave to reporters who were, in fact, in the room to cover the conference.
“Blow them a kiss, everybody, because their days are numbered,” she said.
She warned any young people who hoped to follow her own footsteps into journalism not to “become a fake news propagandist,or I might have to come and go to battle with you.
“I will do that,” she said. “I will. I don’t care how old I am. If I find out anybody in this crowd becomes a fake news propagandist, I might even be in a walker, and I will come at you and I will make you part of a viral video and you will regret it.”
In addition to ranting about the media and stolen elections, Lake also veered into vaccine territory, calling Dr Fauci an “evil elf” before urging young conservatives to political - and bizarrely personal - action.
“I want all the girls to just scour this crowd, put your head on a swivel here and see if you can find that Prince Charming out there. Maybe wave to him,” she said. “This is such an opportunity to meet somebody that you can connect with at a deep spiritual level, right? And I want you to talk to the guys out there. If you’re a guy out there, grab this moment and ask that beautiful girl for her phone number. This is your chance. Ask her for her phone number. I don’t want to have any more pressure. But truly, the future of this country is resting on you and the families that you create. It is that important.”
