Arizona Republican Senate contender Kari Lake recently issued a scathing rebuke of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), likening the pair’s presidential campaigns to chihuahuas, while criticizing Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) for endorsing the Florida governor instead of former President Donald Trump.
With the Iowa caucuses on the horizon, polls show that Trump will wipe the floor in The Hawkeye State against his competitors vying for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. The former president has consistently led DeSantis and Haley in polls and has shown no sign of slowing down.
Lake, a staunch Trump supporter, said that DeSantis and Haley recognize that they can’t defeat Trump and criticized the presidential contenders for spending millions of dollars on commercials promoting their campaigns.
“This is just vanity projects,” Lake told the Washington Examiner during a pro-Trump event in Des Moines, Iowa. “They know they can’t beat President Trump, and they’re trying to nip at his ankles. It’s like a little chihuahua dog that is [biting] at his ankles. It is such a waste of money and energy.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
The Hawkeye State is #MAGA Country.
They’re going to prove it on Monday. https://t.co/LOSSST2hen
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) January 12, 2024
Lake was scheduled to speak in Pella, Iowa, on Jan. 12, 2024, but such an event was canceled because of blizzard conditions, such as below-zero temperatures in The Hawkeye State. As such, Lake rallied Trump supporters to Iowa’s capital.
Lake shared the former president’s belief that the weather would benefit his campaign even though he had to cancel three rallies in Iowa. The former president will rally in Indianola, Iowa, shortly before the Iowa caucuses scheduled for Jan. 15, 2024.
Speaking with the Washington Examiner, individuals likely to attend the forthcoming caucuses noted that DeSantis’ presidential campaign has contacted them more frequently than Trump’s.
“There are people who would crawl across broken glass to vote for President Trump or, in this case, go out in a blizzard,” Lake said.
“Maybe not every voter has been called, but every voter has had a chance to see President Trump speak. He’s been here many, many times and put on some high-energy events. I think he’s reached more voters than the other candidates combined because of his staying power and his ability to draw a big crowd,” she added.
The conservative firebrand also went after Reynolds for endorsing DeSantis over Trump, saying she was “disappointed” by such a decision.
“I was disappointed in that because one of the things that I think Iowans value is loyalty,” Lake said.
