Kari Lake, Donald Trump’s Choice for Voice of America, Vows to Be Reporters’ “Worst Nightmare”
President-elect Donald Trump his continuation parade of political appointments for extended family, Fox News alumni and other members Wednesday night on Truth SocialNotification Kari Lake was his choice for director of Voice of America, the government-funded international news agency.
There are just one (few) minor (important) problems: VOA, a division of the United States Agency for Global Media, is government-sponsorednot the government-run. The agency was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and present clear, objective news from the United States around the world. It is currently broadcast in 48 languages, with an estimated weekly audience of 326 million adults globally across its platforms. Appointees of both VOA and its parent agency are subject to multiple layers of approval, as well as an organizational “firewall” to ensure that the government does not push its agenda and his own bias into VOA’s results.
But by asking Lake to run the media outlet, Trump certainly seems to be trying to do just that, hoping the Voice of America also acts like Trump’s Voice, as if he weren’t already speaking enough.
Lake is a former news anchor who, like Trump, has frequently expressed disdain for the mainstream media and joined him in publicly denying that the results of the 2020 election were valid.
According to Trump, Lake will “ensure that American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media fake”.
His congratulatory post continued with his signature creative capitalization: “Kari is a beloved Arizona Messenger who has supported me at record margins for over 20 years” .
As for her, Lake said she was “honored” was brought up for the show. “Under my leadership, VOA will excel in its mission: documenting America’s achievements around the world,” she wrote on social media.
Her news anchor after several days, Lake turned her attention to unsuccessfully gaining political office. She ran (and was defeated) in the 2022 governor’s race in Arizona, which resulted in her refusing to accept for quite some time and, more recently, failing to running for Senate for the state in November. In 2022, she told journalists she would be their “worst nightmare.” if elected, and has called for “defunding the press,” whom she also calls “monsters.”
Trump has clashed with the Agency for Global Communications and its mission, which runs counter to Trump’s goal of promoting his own agenda. Than 30 VOA whistleblowers complained about Michael BundleTrump’s first term appointee. ONE anonymous VOA employee told CNN that “many of us are very disturbed” by Trump’s intention to put Lake in his place.
The President cannot unilaterally arrange personnel at the media agency: The head of VOA must be approved by a seven-person committee including the Secretary of State; The remaining six members, who must be divided between Democrats and Republicans, must also be approved by the Senate. That seemed to spell disaster for Lake, but Pete Hegseth still has a chance to be confirmed as Secretary of DefenseDogs and cats have long been known to live in harmony with each other and who can say which is real anymore.
