How national media turned Kari Lake into Trumpism's 'leading lady' — and why it's dangerous

Out of the morass of election-denying candidates and ugly campaigns across the nation in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections, one person has emerged as a star.

Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on your relationship to truth and democracy. But there is no denying that Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, has captured the attention of national media like no other candidate.

“Of all the newcomers to MAGA politics, Kari Lake is making the biggest wave,” Trevor Noah said on a recent segment of “The Daily Show” devoted to exposing the dangers of her election denialism.

“In Kari Lake, Trumpism Has Found Its Leading Lady,” reads a headline in the Atlantic.

“Kari Lake Unites Many Arizona Republicans After Party’s Earlier Divisions Over Trump,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Then there’s this, from Yahoo News: “Is Arizona’s Kari Lake the most ‘dangerous’ politician in America?”

'SNL flays Kari Lake': 'SN'Just a regular hometown gal ... lit like a ’90s Cinemax soft-core'

Lake knows her audience, and how to tailor her message

That last question is hard to answer. There’s a lot of competition for that role, but Lake is certainly making her case.

A former local TV news anchor, Lake is undeniably polished on camera and she knows her audience — she lowballs some of her more outrageous claims for certain interviews, like lying about the 2020 election, and exaggerates them in other cases.

“Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lake is exceptionally good at TV,” Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review, wrote in a column for Politico. “She speaks concisely and evocatively, and maintains emotional control even while saying very aggressive things.”

You have to catch her at a Donald Trump rally to really see her in her element, to hear her say things like, “We have this illegitimate President Biden.”

She’s all over the place. And as you might surmise from some of the headlines, the coverage is not always complimentary. In fact, in mainstream media outlets, it rarely is.

Which plays right into Lake’s hands.

No joke: Trevor Noah talks about potential 'chaos' of Kari Lake on 'The Daily Show'

For Lake, all press is good press. Not so much for the rest of us

She can feign outrage at “fake news” coverage while basking in the attention the stories provide, thus raising her profile. There’s no question she’s benefiting from the coverage.

But is anyone else?

Let’s see, a political neophyte with extensive experience in front of TV cameras espouses dangerous conspiracy theories while threatening the media — where have we heard this story before?

You know where.

It wasn’t that long ago that CNN trained cameras on an empty microphone, breathlessly awaiting Trump’s arrival at rallies.

Yes, the network covered Trump’s lies and dangerous claims, as well. But it also elevated him by making him the constant focus of its coverage.

There was a reason, of course. Long story short, Trump is good for ratings.

Taking the Trump playbook and running with it

Lake is filling that role in the 2022 midterms. And maybe, in her way, improving on it.

“People have said Kari Lake is ‘Donald Trump in heels,’ but really, she is Donald Trump with media training and polish,” Ruby Cramer writes in a profile in the Washington Post.

Lake has modeled her campaign in many ways on Trump’s — which paid off in Trump’s endorsement.

“Like Trump, Lake has a difficult-to-describe magnetism with Republican-base voters; they simply cannot get enough of her,” Elaine Godfrey wrote in a story in the Atlantic titled: “The Radical Fringe That Just Went Mainstream in Arizona.”

Godfrey also writes that “Lake, who has become a household name in Trumpworld and raked in campaign donations from across the country, will be well positioned, whatever the coming election result, to be a MAGA superstar.”

No answer: Jon Stewart interviews Mark Brnovich, who wants to have it both ways

Kari Lake as possible vice presidential material? 

We see this every election in political coverage. The media latch onto a storyline and follow it, contribute to it, feed it — creating, in effect, the narrative. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy told in horse-race terms. There are leaders, comebacks, underdogs and more, in part because the media say there are.

A candidate like Lake benefits from the vicious cycle.

Thus, you get pieces like Lowry’s column in Politico, titled, “Why Kari Lake Is the Next Republican Star.” The beginning of the column captures everything about the way media not only cover races, but shape them.

“Kari Lake is a dual frontrunner,” Lowry writes. “She is more likely than not to win her race for governor of Arizona, and then would have to be considered the favorite to become Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick should he win the Republican nomination again in 2024.”

Talk about putting the cart before the horse. But that’s the way national media has approached Lake’s candidacy.

Note the emphasis on national media. Lake thrives on national media coverage, and hasn’t talked to The Arizona Republic in months. Her campaign even objected to the inclusion of Republic reporter Stacey Barchenger as a moderator for the Republican gubernatorial debate in June.

Lake is trying to control the narrative.

And she hasn’t been hurt much by Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs, whose refusal to debate Lake hasn’t played well in national media (or anywhere else, really).

If you’re wondering how they cover Hobbs, here’s a headline from a recent New York Times story: “In Arizona Governor’s Race, a Question Looms: ‘Where’s Katie?’”

Ouch.

There's a real danger in the monster that media is helping to create

What the coverage tends to overshadow is the real threat to democracy that election-denying candidates like Lake embody. Noah, on “The Daily Show,” did the best job spelling it out in the recent segment.

“She’s saying that if the election in 2024 is ‘stolen’ for Biden the same way the last election was ‘stolen’ for Biden, then she’s not going to approve the results,” Noah said. “And that would be chaos. That could throw America into a constitutional crisis like it’s never seen before.”

It would make for a big story, I guess. But at what cost? 

Seriously funny: Why a former 'South Park' writer bought KariLake2022.com 

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.