Kari Lake, senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, delivered a fervent message to Newsmax on Monday night: She wants nothing less than the complete eradication of "wokeism."
Lake dismissed the idea of merely resetting woke ideology on "Rob Schmitt Tonight" with guest host Bob Brooks.
"I don't want [a] reset. I want woke destroyed," she said, arguing that wokeism has inflicted profound harm, particularly on the young — whether through pushing transgender surgeries on children or teaching youth to despise America."
Lake said the demonization of national identity and traditional values has taken root in schools, challenging societal cohesion.
"It has caused our children great harm," she said.
Her solution? A cultural and electoral counterattack rooted in election integrity.
Lake tied the demise of wokeism directly to reforming America's voting systems. She voiced support for Election Day paper ballots and the elimination of voting machines, calling such measures "not a popular topic necessarily," but essential for "really fair elections across this country."
She said when each legal voter casts a paper ballot, the influence of fringe "weird stuff" will dramatically shrink — perhaps to merely 4% or 5% of the electorate — while "common sense individuals" regain the voice to elect their representatives.
Lake's election‑integrity campaign echoes her past initiatives. In 2022, she and colleague Mark Finchem filed a federal lawsuit seeking to ban electronic voting machines. That case was dismissed because of lack of evidence, and their attorneys were sanctioned.
Nonetheless, Lake's team pressed forward with legal challenges to the certified results of the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election, which she lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs by 17,117 votes, alleging ballot‑printing issues and signature‑verification failures. Courts ultimately found no clear evidence demonstrating such problems altered the outcome.
Although Lake's recounts and lawsuit efforts fell short in court, her narrative remains grounded in restoring public trust.
"When we get serious about election integrity, that means fair elections … we're not going to see all of this crazy stuff," she said.
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