Dec. 11 (UPI) — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Kari Lake, a former television news anchor and former gubernatorial and senatorial candidate in Arizona, to lead the federally funded broadcaster Voice of America.
“I am pleased to announce Kari Lake will serve as our next Director of the Voice of America,” Trump wrote Wednesday in a statement.
“She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of freedom and liberty are broadcast around the world fairly and accurately,” Trump said, adding, “unlike the lies spread by the fake news media.”
Lake is a staunch Trump supporter who lost her bid to become Arizona’s governor in 2022 and lost again last month in her Senate race against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego.
Lake unsuccessfully challenged Arizona’s election results in 2022, after 17,000 votes separated her from current Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson ruled that Lake had failed to prove signature verification was not conducted properly on early ballots.
In a post Wednesday, Lake wrote that she was “honored that President Trump has asked me to lead the Voice of America.”
“VOA News is 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,” Lake said.
“With an audience of 326 million people, Voice of America delivers information in 48 languages,” she added. “Under my leadership the VOA will excel in its mission: chronicling America’s achievements worldwide.”