Kari Lake and pro-assassination antisemite muse about using the Second Amendment to stop “tyrants”

WRITTEN BY ERIC HANANOKI

PUBLISHED 08/04/23 9:

Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake recently appeared on the podcast of Michael Scheuer, a virulent antisemite who has called for the assassinations of leading political figures like President Joe Biden. During their discussion, Lake stated that the Second Amendment is “there to stop the tyrants.” Scheuer responded by claiming that there’s “an enormous enemy in Washington” and “in the general staff of the military.”  

Lake, who is considering a bid for the U.S. Senate, is a former news anchor who has repeatedly and falsely insisted that she won her 2022 gubernatorial bid. She has referred to herself as “the real governor, the duly elected governor” and told one podcaster that Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs “should be pulled out by her collar." 

She repeatedly appeared on far-right programs during her unsuccessful campaign. She also endorsed — and then rescinded, following media criticism — an antisemitic candidate for state Senate in the non-neighboring state of Oklahoma.

Lake has attempted to stay relevant by positioning herself as Donald Trump’s potential 2024 running mate and releasing an election-denying memoir. Throughout her promotional tour for the book, Lake has appeared on shows like the QAnon-supporting X22 Report, Steve Bannon’s War Room, and right-wing troll Catturd2’s In the Litter Box w/ Jewels & Catturd. 

On July 28, the Arizona Republican appeared on Scheuer’s Two Mikes podcast, which streams on Rumble. Scheuer is a former CIA operative and QAnon conspiracy theorist who has said that Jewish people are “disloyal,” “subversive,” and “lethal enemies of Americans” who "must be stopped and then scoured from the continent.” He has also stated that numerous political figures should be assassinated, including “the Bidens, Harris, the Clintons, the Obamas,” George Soros, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

During the interview, Lake said that “the Second Amendment, in many ways, is the most important amendment” and that it’s “there to stop the tyrants.” (Elsewhere, Lake has directly accused Biden of acting tyrannically.) 

Scheuer pounced on Lake’s suggestion of using the Second Amendment against tyrants by arguing that “what we've seen now is an enormous enemy in Washington and an enormous enemy in the general staff of the military.” 

Scheuer also suggested to Lake that she consider “restoring the state militia,” an idea that she later said was “interesting.” 

ICHAEL SCHEUER: When you were preparing to be governor, did you ever give any thought to restoring the state militia?

KARI LAKE: I had just — you know, I had a lot of people ask those kind of questions and I said — you know — interesting question, I'm sure that's your top issue, but my top issue is the border. And I think we have the people to help secure the border if we just put our will there to secure the border. You know, I think that the most — reason that we are still a country is we do have an armed citizenry.

SCHEUER: Right.

LAKE: The Second Amendment, in many ways, is the most important amendment, because when all else fails, we have that. That's what's keeping the world, honestly, going still, when you've got citizens who are able to protect themselves from tyrants, and that's why it was placed there. It wasn’t placed there for target practice. It wasn't placed there for pheasant hunting. It was placed there to stop the tyrants, and our Founding Fathers were pretty darn smart.

SCHEUER: Yeah. And that's why we initially had a militia — because they were afraid of the federal government encroaching on them. And when they stole that away and made a National Guard, they left the Second Amendment alone. So it's still there. I've often wondered why governors haven't thought, "Well, you know, maybe we should have our own militia again." But it's probably just a wild thought. But it's something that's in the Constitution. No law can overrule the Constitution. And it just seems to me a state should think about that. That's all.

LAKE: Interesting.

SCHEUER: And I don't mean — I would agree with what you said. You probably have enough firepower to do what you need to do for your border. But I mean, what we've seen now is an enormous enemy in Washington and an enormous enemy in the general staff of the military.

LAKE: That's [inaudible]. Well, and our founders understood this more than anyone, because they fought back the most — the largest tyrant you can imagine, King George and the British monarchy, and they died for our freedoms. They died for us to be able to choose our elected officials, our elected representation. And that's one of the reasons I stay in this fight, because I don't want that to have been done in vain.

Scheuer invoked the Second Amendment as a solution to political problems during a July 3 exchange with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro. On that podcast, he claimed that prior elections were “rigged” and said he thanks God that “the Second Amendment remains in the Constitution because I don't know how else to take care of these vermin.” 

This is not the first time Lake has invoked the American Revolution and the Second Amendment as a remedy for alleged tyranny. During a December speech at Turning Point USA’s America Fest, Lake called for the imprisonment of Maricopa County election officials and, comparing her circumstances to the tyranny that precipitated the American Revolution, said, “I think we’re right there right now, aren’t we?”