Kari Lake didn’t dispute a talk show host’s false claim her opponent supports veteran suicides

Kari Lake appeared on the show of an Islamaphobic conspiracy theorist who has espoused white nationalist views and offered no pushback when the host claimed her combat veteran opponent in the U.S. Senate race wants his fellow veterans to kill themselves.

Lake appeared on “Loomer Unleashed,” hosted by Laura Loomer on May 21 to discuss her bid for U.S. Senate. In the interview, as the two women discussed the southern border, Loomer claimed that U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, the likely Democratic nominee in this year’s Senate race, was in favor of illegal immigration. That led her to claim Gallego did not care about veteran suicide. 

“I think, too, another thing that’s really shameful about Ruben Gallego is he likes to tout, you know, his military service, as if he’s some kind of war hero in our country,” Loomer said about the U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq. She went on to say that, “if Ruben Gallego truly cares about veterans,” then he would “keep illegal aliens out” claiming that money used on immigration should be going to veterans. 

“I would even go as far — maybe it’s provocative to say — I would say he’s in favor of veterans committing suicide, because until he actually says he wants to divert all of those resources from illegal aliens to all of those veterans who are in need, and maybe we could even save some of the lives of these veterans,” Loomer said. “I don’t wanna hear Ruben Gallego talk about his military service anymore.” 

After Loomer’s comment, Lake said she did “appreciate” Gallego’s service before saying that his district has a high homeless population. 

Gallego’s campaign said Lake’s conversation with Loomer shows how little she thinks of veterans.

“Kari Lake’s decision to stand behind Laura Loomer’s disgusting lies is reprehensible,” Gallego campaign spokeswoman Hannah Goss said in a statement to the Arizona Mirror. “Ruben Gallego is a combat veteran who lost Marine brothers to suicide and has worked tirelessly to prevent other veterans from experiencing the tragedy that he knows all too well. This is exactly who Kari Lake is — a self-serving liar who disrespects our veterans, their service, and their sacrifice. Lake needs to apologize to the 500,000 Arizona veterans who risked everything to keep this country safe.”

Gallego is a Marine Corps veteran who deployed to Iraq in 2005 as an infantryman and served with a unit that saw the most Marine casualties of any unit, with 22 soldiers killed. 

Gallego has spoken publicly about veteran suicide and the struggles returning soldiers face with post-traumatic stress disorder. During his tenure in Congress, he has also been a part of bipartisan legislation aimed at veteran suicide, as well as bipartisan legislation aimed at protecting whistleblowers in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Lake did not respond to repeated requests for comment. 

Loomer is known for her provocative actions and statements and has spread a number of conspiracy theories, including ones that are promoted by white supremacist groups. She is also known to associate with white supremacists and has been noted for spreading false information about the Hamas-Israel war.   

Lake also did not push back against claims by Loomer that Democrats are attempting to grant undocumented immigrants voting rights. Non-citizens are already barred from voting in federal elections. 

“Well, it’ll be game over for America,” Lake said in response to Loomer’s false claims. “I mean, this is the last, final election. We either get this right and we vote for America First policies or, you know, we vote with Joe Biden, people like Ruben Gallego, who truly want the destruction of our country.”