Politics

‘Now she’s the world’s problem’: Some Arizona Republicans relieved Lake is heading to Washington

Published

2 years ago

December 12, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of longtime loyalist Kari Lake to lead Voice of America has some Arizona Republicans breathing a sigh of relief.

Lake has for the last two election cycles dominated Republican politics in Arizona, running and losing back-to-back races for governor and Senate — and earning her the ire of some of her fellow conservatives in the state. Some Arizona Republicans had already been skeptical of her political future in the state, given the losses, though her name had been floated both for state Republican Party chair and Arizona secretary of state.

This decision now all but removes her from those conversations, creating space for other Republicans, like Karrin Taylor Robson, who ran against Lake in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 2022 but came in second, to rise to the fore.

“When you’re a two-time loser and you did worse the second time around, that’s a clue that maybe the voters don’t want you,” said Barrett Marson, a GOP strategist in Arizona. “I think it clears space for the conservative but normal wing of the Republican Party in Arizona.”

Robson has been floated as a likely Republican candidate for governor, and there was some uncertainty over whether Lake would be interested in a rematch.

“As the 2026 governor’s field on the Republican side comes into focus, the big question mark was, what’s Kari Lake going to do? … This at least partially answers that question and takes a pretty big potential name off the chessboard, at least for now,” a Republican strategist in Arizona, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the dynamics, said. “She’s certainly a name. She’s been the Republican nominee twice. It’s safe to say she would’ve been formidable. It’s a fairly big deal, I think, in terms of how that race is going to play out.”

Still, Lake, who maintains a robust social media presence and following among the MAGA crowd, is expected to remain an important presence in Arizona GOP politics. Multiple Republican political operatives in the state said had Lake run for Arizona Republican Party chair, she likely would have won.

Lake’s name had also been floated for U.S. ambassador to Mexico, a post that ultimately went to former U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador Ronald Johnson. Johnson is a Green Beret who spent more than 20 years at the CIA and brings significant foreign policy experience to the job.

Lake is one of several candidates who have demonstrated the challenges of running on a “Make America Great Again” platform without President-elect Donald Trump’s name.

At the federally funded broadcaster Voice of America, Lake will lead a $267 million agency that broadcasts in more than 40 languages to a global audience of more than 354 million people. Lake has more than three decades of experience in broadcast news, including 22 years working at the Fox affiliate in Phoenix.

The Voice of America director is officially appointed by the head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, a Senate-confirmed position Trump has yet to name. The VOA director needs a majority support from a seven-member advisory board of presidential appointees, who require Senate confirmation.

Trump’s previous pick to lead the Agency for Global Media, Michael Pack, was accused of using his position to amplify the Trump administration’s message. The findings of a federal investigation released last year found Pack abused his power to sideline executives he believed were insufficiently supportive of Trump, engaging in gross mismanagement and breaking laws and regulations in doing so.

In a post on Truth Social, Lake said she was “honored” Trump had asked her to lead Voice of America, which she called “a vital international media outlet dedicated to advancing the interests of the United States by engaging directly with people across the globe and promoting democracy and truth.”

“Under my leadership, the VOA will excel in its mission: chronicling America’s achievements worldwide,” Lake said.

A person close to Lake, granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the appointment, said that the position will provide Lake “the perfect platform to share America’s story and keep delivering the truth to people across the world.”

“After a three-decades long career as a trusted journalist and news anchor, she courageously walked away from the mainstream media,” the person said. “Refusing to compromise her principles or push Fake News, Kari’s decision inspired countless Americans to seek the truth in a world of increasing disinformation.”

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said Lake would work “to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media,” calling her a “beloved News Anchor in Arizona.”

Lake is one of several candidates who have demonstrated the challenges of running on a “Make America Great Again” platform without Trump’s name. In addition to Lake, MAGA-aligned gubernatorial candidates Doug Mastriano and Tudor Dixon lost their respective gubernatorial bids in Pennsylvania and Michigan in 2022.

Lake repeatedly claimed falsely that Trump won the 2020 election, and contested the results of her own loss in 2022. She did not, however, contest the results of her 2024 loss, with Trump winning in the state even as Democrat Ruben Gallego bested her in the Senate contest.

“She’s no longer Arizona’s problem. Now, she’s the world’s problem,” Marson said.

Politics

The accidental American

Published

4 minutes ago

June 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

In 2001, airline employees stopped a seven-months pregnant Florence Balogun from traveling home to London, deeming her too pregnant to fly. She stayed in New York, where she was visiting, eventually giving birth to a son, Folarin, before returning to London.

Twenty-five years later, Folarin Balogun has attracted global notice as a rising soccer star. Despite training in Arsenal’s youth academy and spending much of his career playing for England’s youth teams, Balogun — legally an American citizen, thanks to his Brooklyn birth — has emerged as a key contributor to the U.S. team’s attack at this year’s World Cup. The striker scored two goals in America’s opener against Paraguay last Friday, hoisting his team to a record-breaking 4-1 victory, the most goals the U.S. men’s team has ever scored in a World Cup game.

While Balogun’s performance has fueled fresh hopes about America’s World Cup prospects, he’s also found himself in the middle of America’s ongoing birthright citizenship debate.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order overturning the country’s long-standing birthright citizenship practice. The American Civil Liberties Union then sued to block the move, taking their legal battle to the Supreme Court. The court is expected to issue a final ruling soon — though it seems“broadly skeptical” of Trump’s effort.

“The executive order itself doesn’t claim to strip away [Balogun’s] citizenship or or the citizenship of other people born before [Feb. 19, 2025],” Cody Wofsy, the lead lawyer in the ACLU’s case, told Blue Light News. “But the constitutional theory that the government is asking the Supreme Court to adopt casts a shadow over the citizenship of millions and millions of people who were born in this country and have lived their entire lives as citizens.”

Examples of high-profile birthright citizens — like Balogun, but also politicians such as Kamala Harris and Marco Rubio — help illustrate the reality of banning birthright citizenship, Wofsy said.

“We don’t know what the justices are thinking,” he said, “but I would hope that they understand just how grave an action the government’s asking them for.”

Politics

The Americans who want to see Australia do well

Published

34 minutes ago

June 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

SEATTLE — Some American fans walking toward Lumen Field on Friday morning were playfully jeering their Australian peers whenever they spotted a telltale yellow jersey. But a major driver of the local economy offered a kinder greeting to the visiting team.

Cranes in view of the stadium gates have been outfitted with the Australian flag and a WELCOME message from the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which manages the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, along with dockworkers’ union ILWU Local 19.

The seaport alliance and the labor union representing its workforce are mounting a similar display throughout the World Cup, rotating flags out to reflect the pair of teams that will face off next in Seattle. But keeping the Australians happy is a more urgent cause for Seattle harbor interests than, say, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar.

Australia is one of the ports’ top trading partners, with the 14th largest source of container volume at the Port of Seattle, but ranks much higher when it comes to the dollar value of goods that come from there. (New Zealand, for example, sends more volume to Seattle than Australia but it’s worth only half as much.)

Meat, including beef and lamb, and minerals comprise the biggest categories of goods that Australia ships to the United States, although some of the most valuable exports — gold and pharmaceuticals — are more likely to land at Sea-Tac airport than via the harbor.

The U.S. and Australia have had a free-trade pact since 2005, although President Donald Trump’s tariff regime threatens to disrupt some trade flows. Australia is currently pushing back on its inclusion on an American list of countries alleged to use forced labor in its supply chains, which the U.S. Trade Representative is using as the basis to impose a 12.5 percent tariff.