ARIZONA -- On Sep 12th’s episode of the Lake Tapes scrolls through over 30 instances of the “documented pattern of [Kari Lake’s] preference for authoritarian-led countries over her own” as she undercuts American democracy for her own benefit. 

Kari Lake will do or say to gain power —  including “consistently [go] to bat for authoritarian leaders across the globe,” and side with those interested in “ending the United States’ role as a global power.” Lake has even lied about Hungary’s tightened abortion laws that “‘humiliate’ and torment women” to distract from her own record of pushing to ban abortion.  

Let’s roll the tape on how Kari Lake prefers foreign authoritarians to the United States:

Joy Reid: “Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s authoritarian dictator and current idol of the anti-democracy right. The new Vladimir Putin just without the land grabbing obsession. The reality is Viktor Orbán is a right-wing dream for the Republicans trying to destroy our democracy from within as Europe’s leading defender of fascism abroad.”

Kari Lake: “I think it’s crazy. I’m wondering why journalists haven’t gone to interview him before. You know, when they interview Zelensky in Ukraine, they treat them with kid gloves, and it’s like a puff piece. And then they attack Putin. And they never say anything, you know, neutral or fair about the situation so that we can have just honest information.”

Kari Lake’s address to CPAC Hungary 2024: “It’s a testament to the country’s first leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. I had the opportunity to talk to Prime Minister Orbán and I’m not exaggerating when I say that our conversation changed my life.” 

Kari Lake: “I mean, Hungary is doing things right. They have a leader who is putting the people of that country first in Viktor Orbán, and you know he’s doing the right thing when his arch enemy number one, George Soros is doing everything he can to try to topple him.” 

Kari Lake: “I really encourage people out there to go visit Hungary, you see it when you’re in the billboards, you see happy families, you see mothers, and they encourage that. They never changed a single abortion law in Hungary, they didn’t ban abortion, they did nothing to change the laws. And they reduced the numbers of abortions by half by 50%.”