A former attorney for Donald Trump has hit out at failed Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, branding her appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference convention as “lackluster.”
Lake praised Ronald Reagan, her ally Steve Bannon and Trump during her speech in National Harbor, Maryland.
But conservative attorney Jenna Ellis was highly critical of both Lake and her speech, and took to social media to share her views.
This combo picture features Jenna Ellis, left, and Kari Lake. Ellis, a former attorney for Donald Trump, has branded Lake’s appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference convention as “lackluster.” Getty
In a March 4 tweet, Ellis wrote, “‘I stand by JFK, Ronald Reagan, Steve Bannon and Donald Trump.’ Kari Lake’s keynote speech is… lackluster and wince. Hardly any applause.”
Ellis, who has more than 953,000 Twitter followers, added: “Sorry not sorry people are so offended by this tweet including Kari’s own ‘war room’. It’s just true. To be honest, I expected a much better speech from her because her biggest asset is media exposure.”
Lake, who was supported by Trump, lost her race for Arizona governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs by an estimated 17,000 votes.
The former news anchor then claimed that voting irregularities cost her the election and continues to dispute the final result.
She has claimed there was electoral error, which was denied by Maricopa County Judge Peter Thompson after a two-day trial in January.
In February, Lake said she would take her election lawsuit to the Supreme Court — something Ellis also criticized.
Ellis said in a Twitter response: “I supported Kari for governor. She is not a candidate now. She is raising funds from Lawfare, which will not catch on.”
In a separate response to the Kari Lake War Room, Ellis said: “She (Lake) has not and will not win any of her lawsuits.
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“I was one of the first to back her and endorse her as a candidate, but that will set back the conservative electoral integrity movement.”
Ellis has previously supported the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss a case aimed at reinstating Trump.
Following his November 2020 election defeat, the former president has made unsubstantiated claims that Democrat Joe Biden won thanks to widespread voter fraud.
In February, Ellis responded to the finding that the case brought by the Brunson brothers of Utah was dismissed a second time. The first denial came on January 9, and the court also denied the attempted appeal.
She previously told Newsweek the case was “predictably dismissed.” She also tweeted an article about the decision, saying it was the “right decision”.
Newsweek has reached out to Kari Lake for comment.
