This post originally appeared at https://wisconsindailystar.com/politics/conservative-firebrand-kari-lake-plans-to-serve-as-a-surrogate-for-trump-at-wednesdays-gop-presidential-candidates-debate/mkittle/2023/08/22/

Arizona Republican Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake will be in attendance at Wednesday’s first Republican presidential candidates’ debate in Milwaukee, and she plans to speak up for an absent former President Donald Trump.

Lake, a close Trump ally, tells The Star News Network that she will do everything in her power to return the former president to the White House.

“President Trump has saved America before and he is the only candidate that can defeat Joe Biden and turn our Country around,” she said. “I will do everything in my power to ensure his return to the Oval Office.” That may include speaking on Trump’s behalf in the debate’s “spin room” following the event.

The former Arizona TV news anchor has yet to concede to far-left Democrat Katie Hobbs in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election. Lake is preparing for a U.S. Senate run with an official launch expected in October, according to multiple sources.

Lake has been an ardent supporter of the former president, most recently defending Trump for foregoing the Republic National Committee-sanctioned debate on Fox News.

Trump confirmed on his Truth Social account Sunday that he would not attend the debate after previously refusing to sign a pledge to back the eventual Republican Party nominee should it turn out to not be Trump.

“New CBS POLL, just out, has me leading the field by ‘legendary’ numbers. TRUMP 62 percent, 46 Points above DeSanctimonious (who is crashing like an ailing bird!),” Trump wrote, using his pet disparaging nickname for fellow presidential candidate, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis came in second place in the CBS/YouGov poll Sunday with 16 percent support. Other than Trump and DeSantis, no other candidates received more than 7 percent support in the survey.

Lake sounds absolutely delighted that Trump plans to instead do an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

“Why would President @realDonaldTrump sit at the kids table when he already had a seat at the biggest table in the world? Trump has nothing more to prove,” Lake wrote Monday on her X account (formerly Twitter).

“I’m more interested in watching him talk about solutions with@TuckerCarlson than him being attacked by the JV debate team.”

Why would President @realDonaldTrump sit at the kids table when he already had a seat at the biggest table in the world?

Trump has nothing more to prove.

I’m more interested in watching him talk about solutions with @TuckerCarlson than him being attacked by the JV debate team. pic.twitter.com/HYeAJ8Wj4l

— Kari Lake (@KariLake) August 21, 2023

The Republican nominee for Arizona governor who has vigorously contested in court the results of her 2022 election loss, told former Trump adviser Steve Bannon on Monday’s “War Room” that Trump’s rivals are like “T-ball” players going up against Babe Ruth.

“The people in this country know where he stands on the issues. They trust him to get us back on track, to get the inflation tamed, to get the economy back on track, to end this war that Joe Biden is dragging us into,” Lake told Bannon. “The people in this country trust him. He has the greatest name ID in the whole country and Republicans are ready to get him back on the ticket and get him back in the White House.

“It’s really obvious when you have Babe Ruth and a bunch of T-ball players who you want to put on the team, and it’s going to be Babe Ruth.”

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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Image “Kari Lake on Bannon’s WarRoom” by Bannon’s WarRoom.

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