MSNBC reporter Vaughn Hillyard called out Kari Lake—a QAnon adherent and election denier who was the Republican nominee in Arizona's gubernatorial race—and said she lost her race because embraced former Republican President Donald Trump's false election fraud narrative.
Hillyard said Lake "predicated her campaign on trying to sell the Big Lie, in trying to sell the conspiracy theories" that the 2020 general election was stolen and that the electoral system at large is rife with fraud and abuse.
But, he noted, this is "the third election cycle in a row" in which the people of Arizona have rejected Trump's narrative, and her decision to campaign alongside prominent Trumpist figures like the White nationalist Steve Bannon contributed to why she lost her race.
You can hear what Hillyard said in the video below.
\u201c.@VaughnHillyard: "Could I say something about Kari Lake, you guys?"\u201d— MSNBC (@MSNBC) 1668519964
Hillyard said:
“This is the third election cycle in a row in which Arizonans rejected Trumpism in the final week of her campaign. Who did she campaign alongside?"
"She campaigned alongside Steve Bannon. She campaigned alongside one of the chief promoters of Pizzagate. She campaigned alongside an individual who promoted the notion of the war on White people."
"She campaigned alongside State Senator Wendy Rogers, who just earlier this year was here in Florida, speaking at a White nationalist conference. Somebody who frequently spews anti-Semitism."
"This is an individual who just last week called her Democratic opponent a pervert. This is an individual who suggested there should be perp walks for elections officials and criminal charges against individuals who oversaw the COVID response in 2020 in Arizona."
"This is an individual who’s celebrating, putting a dagger into the McCain machine.”
“She asserted that Cindy McCain wants to end America. She called Mike Lindell one of the great patriots of our time. She said Dinesh D’Souza is one of the greatest patriots in America."
"She suggested Paul Gosar was the kind of lawmaker our founding fathers envisioned. She called the media the right hand of the devil, the scourge of the earth."
"If that doesn’t sound like Donald Trump? I don’t know what does."
"And ultimately, the big question was, was she going to be able to make that sale here? And the answer is no, according to Arizona voters.”
Many concurred with Hillyard's assessment.
\u201cKari Lake was primarily campaigning to be Trump's VP pick \u2014\u00a0the Governor title was just going to be her temporary side-gig. She's failed at both.\u201d— DrJackBrown \ud83c\udf0a (@DrJackBrown \ud83c\udf0a) 1668554892
\u201cThank you for taking out the trash, AZ. The message is clear on trumpism.\u201d— Amanda B \ud83d\uddf3 (@Amanda B \ud83d\uddf3) 1668527603
\u201cHilliard shooting out truth.\u201d— AlohaPF (@AlohaPF) 1668533180
\u201cI always thought Vaughn Hillyard was an awesome political reporter, but after listening to his comments here, I admire him even more. Insightful, candid observations. #KariLakeLost #TrumpLost #TwoLosers\u201d— TJ \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@TJ \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1668541886
\u201cNicely put. All facts, painting a damning picture.\u201d— S.V. D\u00e1te (@S.V. D\u00e1te) 1668532247
\u201cI love this. It's the kind of hard-hitting reporting we need about our politics. Just the facts, delivered by @VaughnHillyard in an unstinting fashion that gives us the truth & let's listeners draw their own conclusions from them. It's the kind of reporting Trumpworld hates.\u201d— Joyce Alene (@Joyce Alene) 1668534042
\u201cThis is an awesome recap of why Kari Lake lost and, thank goodness she did! \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\u201d— Traitors Need Not Apply (@Traitors Need Not Apply) 1668534829
\u201c.@VaughnHillyard is a thoughtful and trustworthy journalist who lives and breathes the mission of the work. He is also a good person, and isn\u2019t it nice when that happens?\u201d— Connie Schultz (@Connie Schultz) 1668542231
\u201cWhy did @KariLake lose? Take two minutes & listen to @VaughnHillyard here. It\u2019s the single best explanation for why most AZ voters rejected Lake. This is so good.\ud83d\udc47\u201d— Joe Walsh (@Joe Walsh) 1668527295
Hillyard has sparred with Lake before.
Over the summer, he confronted her over her baseless claim she had detected "some stealing" ahead of the midterm elections.
Lake said “we’re already detecting some stealing going on” and she’s “not gonna let them steal an election." Her unsupported claims received pushback from Hillyard, who noted despite her claims she has not "even laid out any fraud or irregularities."
She went on to accuse Hillyard of working for "MSDNC" after saying he is the "last person on the planet Earth I would tell about what we discovered."
A visibly annoyed Hillyard challenged her further, noting despite her claim she had discovered a crime, she had no interest in "reporting it to the authorities."
