Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) slammed Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake for encouraging her supporters to arm themselves ahead of the election season, saying such rhetoric could result in people getting killed.
In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” moderator Kristen Welker asked about Lake’s recent comments to supporters, in which she told them to “strap on a Glock” to prepare themselves for what she described as an intense election period ahead.
Welker also asked about former President Trump telling Time magazine that whether there will be violence around the election “depends on its fairness.”
“It’s dangerous. What Kari Lake said could result in people getting hurt or killed. Same thing with the former [president],” Kelly said in response.
On whether words can translate into violence, Kelly said, “Absolutely.”
“Words, especially when they come from somebody who is in a leadership position — and Kari Lake’s never been elected to anything. I don’t expect her ever to be elected to anything — but when you’re a candidate for the United States Senate, you need to be careful with your words. We’ve seen this throughout history,” he continued. “So, I hope people reject that. I think they should consider their language and try to do better going forward.”
“We need people in elected office that want to take this country in a better direction where we accept the outcome of elections, where we don’t use language to try to incite our supporters. We don’t need folks in the United States Senate that they’re comfortable using language like that,” he said.
In response, a spokesperson for Lake’s campaign told The Hill, “Ruben Gallego is an unhinged lunatic who has admitted to having anger issues, which include cursing at veterans and lashing out at voters. He is the real threat to our country.”
Updated at 7:44 pm.