Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) criticized Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake for encouraging her supporters to arm themselves ahead of election season, saying the rhetoric could result in people dying.
In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” moderator Kristen Welker asked about Lake’s recent comments to supporters, telling them to “put on a Glock” to prepare for what she described it as an intense electoral period ahead.
She also asked about former President Trump telling Time magazine that whether there will be violence surrounding the election “depends on your justice.”
“It’s dangerous. What Kari Lake said could result in people being injured or killed. Same thing with the previous one [president],” Kelly said in response.
On whether words can be translated into violence, Kelly said: “Absolutely.”
“Words, especially when they come from someone who is in a leadership position – and Kari Lake has never been elected to anything. I don’t expect her to be elected to anything – but when you’re a candidate for the United States Senate, you need to be careful with her 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 in the future.”
“We need people in elected positions who want to take this country in a better direction, where we accept the results of the elections, where we don’t use language to try to incite our supporters. We don’t need people in the United States Senate who are comfortable using language like that,” he said.
The Hill reached out to Kari Lake’s campaign for a response.
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