Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024

ARIZONA -–  Today, Business Insider reports “Lake keeps spending lots of time outside the state, much to the chagrin of Republicans” and “as it turns out, she’s making some extra money by doing it.”

The report reveals that Lake has been making tens of thousands of dollars in speaking fees – although her campaign previously claimed she doesn’t charge speaking fees.

Previous reporting has detailed that “Kari Lake’s out-of-state travel adds up,” “raising eyebrows” for “how much attention she’s paying to her national profile.”  And the “cross-country itinerary she’s mapped out to promote her campaign appears better suited for someone with national aspirations or a book to sell.”

Business Insider: Kari Lake keeps making money off of her MAGA celebrity brand

By Bryan Metzger 

July 2nd, 2024

Key Points:

• Kari Lake has never won an election — but she’s quickly become one of MAGA’s biggest stars.

• In just the last five months, she made $20,000 from one paid speech and $27,000 from book sales.

• She’s also invested between $1,000 and $15,000 in Trump’s “Truth Social.”…

• But Lake keeps spending lots of time outside the state, much to the chagrin of Republicans — including former President Donald Trump.

• As it turns out, she’s making some extra money by doing it.

• Lake was paid $20,000 to appear at the St. Joseph County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner in South Bend, Indiana, according to a financial disclosure filed at the end of June.

• The Arizona Republican previously filed a disclosure in January, revealing that she had given several paid speeches, totaling $75,000, in the year before she announced her campaign in October 2023. The new April payment appears to contradict her campaign’s previous statement that Lake “doesn’t [charge] a speaking fee.”

• In the five months since filing her January disclosure, Lake also brought in an additional $27,738.77 from sales of her book, “Unafraid.”

• Her June disclosure also included further details of her agreement with the agreement she made with right-wing publisher Winning Team Publishing in 2023: a $100,000 advance, plus $25% of net profits beyond that.

• The candidate’s assets are largely unchanged from January, aside from one notable addition to her stock portfolio: Between $1,000 and $15,000 in stock in Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that run’s the former president’s “Truth Social” platform.

• Lake’s campaign did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment…

• But Lake has yet to win an election, and some Republicans have grumbled about the fact that she’s spent a significant amount of time out of state.

Read more: Washington Post: Tensions grow between Trump and Lake in Arizona race for Senate, New York Times: Kari Lake, a Trump Acolyte, Struggles to Find Her Path; NBC: Despite attempts to be less ‘divisive,’ Kari Lake finds it hard to shed her MAGA instincts; Arizona Republic Opinion: Kari Lake’s Chances of Winning Arizona Seem Dimmer By the Day; Arizona Republic Opinion: Kari Lake 2.0 wants a new 2022 election? So much for moving on, Axios: U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake pivots back to stolen election rhetoric, MSNBC: Kari Lake faceplants in the mad dash to whitewash her extremism, Arizona Republic: Kari Lake’s back on the air, this time talking far-right topics on online show, Arizona Republic: Kari Lake’s charm offensive is more offensive than charming for moderate Republicans, Washington Post: Kari Lake struggles to court moderates, imperiling GOP Senate pickup, POLITICO: When QAnon fundraises for Kari Lake … she shows up, Arizona Republic: Kari Lake defends Jan. 6 Capitol rioters on the Senate campaign trail