Washington (AP) President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is appointing Kari Lakeas as director of Voice of America, appointing a devoted supporter who failed to win a Senate seat and the governorship of Arizona to lead the congressionally sponsored network that offers independent news coverage worldwide.
Immigration hardliner Lake worked as a television news anchor in Phoenix for almost thirty years before leaving in 2021 due to a string of contentious social media posts, including spreading false information about COVID-19 during the pandemic. Shortly after, she began her political career, swiftly gaining a devoted following and a national reputation as she squabbled with reporters and echoed Trump’s scathing condemnation of what she referred to as fake news.
Her steadfast adherence to the myth that she and Trump were both victims of election fraud won her over to Trump. She lost her Senate bid last month by an even greater margin, and she has never admitted that she lost the 2022 governor contest. Before selecting JD Vance as his running mate, Trump gave her some thought.
Trump has previously been a harsh critic of Voice of America, even calling some of their statements offensive to our nation in 2020.
Because it covered the lifting of lockdown in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first appeared, the broadcaster received more criticism during Trump’s first term for its coverage of the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. One White House publication accused the network of using taxpayer funds to speak for authoritarian regimes.
VOA was established during World War II and is mandated by its congressional charter to provide independent news and information to audiences around the world. It defended its coverage in response to Trump’s attack.
President Joe Biden’s administration promptly fired several prominent Trump-aligned individuals from VOA and posts connected to it after taking office in January 2021.
Trump also said Wednesday that he wanted Florida personal injury lawyer Dan Newlin to be his administration’s ambassador to Colombia and named Leandro Rizzuto as his pick to be the U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States, which is headquartered in Washington.
Additionally, he appointed Peter Lamelas, a doctor and the creator of one of Florida’s biggest urgent care centers, as the ambassador of the United States to Argentina. Additionally, Lamelas has contributed significantly to Trump’s and other prominent Republicans’ previous campaigns.
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From Phoenix, Cooper reported.
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