Kari Lake Called John McCain a 'Hero' When He Died — Now She's Calling Him a 'Loser'

Caitlin O'Hara/Bloomberg/Getty Kari Lake, Republican candidate for Arizona governor

Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for Arizona governor, called late Arizona Sen. John McCain — who was also a Republican — a "loser" this week, echoing remarks allegedly made by former President Donald Trump.

During a recent campaign event — footage of which was shared to Twitter — Lake asked the crowd, "We don't have any McCain Republicans in here, do we?" eliciting boos from her supporters.

"Okay, if you [are], get the hell out," she added with a laugh.

Elsewhere at the event, Lake again noted that the Republican party was "the party of McCain," sneering her face before saying, "I know. Boy, Arizona has delivered some losers, haven't they?"

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Lake's latest comments are in stark contrast to earlier remarks she made about McCain, who died in 2018.

Following the news of his death, Lake wrote on Twitter: "The 'Maverick' has died. Four days shy of his 82nd birthday Senator John Mccain passed away at his Cornville, Arizona home after a courageous battle with cancer. A war hero, icon and a force to be reckoned with. Sending my deepest condolences to his family at this painful time."

But Lake, who previously worked as a TV news anchor before leaving the industry to become a politician, has changed her tone on the campaign trail.

When contacted by PEOPLE, Meghan McCain called the comments "disgusting" and "hateful."

"Unfortunately my family has become used to these kind of disgusting and hateful comments," she says. "My father will always be an icon and the people of Arizona deserve someone better than Kari Lake."

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Lake is currently in a tight race against Democrat Katie Hobbs, the Arizona secretary of state.

Throughout her campaign, Lake has courted controversy with comments she's made about election security, using rhetoric that echoes what's been voiced by Trump. Many of her political stances appear to be in direct opposition of the stances she took on issues before running for public office.

Her remarks about Mccain also echo previous remarks made by Trump, who has falsely mocked McCain as "last in his class" at the Naval Academy, called him "horrible" and mocked him for being captured while fighting in the Vietnam War. According to a 2020 report from The Atlantic, Trump privately called McCain "a loser."

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Trump's repeated criticism of McCain came both on the 2016 campaign trail and after the senator died of brain cancer in August 2018.

"We're not going to support that loser's funeral," Trump reportedly told senior staff members of McCain after he died, according to The Atlantic. Trump has disputed the report, though he has called McCain a "loser" in public, as well.

At the 2015 Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, Trump said of McCain: "He lost and let us down. I've never liked him as much after that. I don't like losers." And on July 18, 2015, Trump seemed to boast about the insult when he tweeted a link to a political blog that quoted him at the same event calling McCain exactly that — "a loser."

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