Kari Lake, a senior adviser for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, told Newsmax on Sunday that she is "heartbroken" over the deadly church shooting and fire in Michigan earlier in the day, and she blamed a culture of media-driven hatred for fueling unrest across the country.
"I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in mourning right now," Lake said on Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda." "They lost their president, Russell Nelson, who passed away over the weekend. Many of the LDS churches are always full, but it was extra full today when this madman descended upon the church. And I'm just heartbroken for all of the victims and the families."
Lake said the attack underscores how dangerous the atmosphere has become in the United States.
"The violence in this country has gotten really out of control," she said. "While we don't know a whole lot about who this person is, what his motives were, to go after a place of faith where people are joining together and praying is just a new level of depravity. I don't even have the words to describe how upset I am about what happened this morning in Michigan."
Turning to the role of the press, Lake said news outlets have amplified division and misled the public.
"You know, I spent 30 years as a broadcast journalist, and I walked away from a very lucrative job, a seven-figure contract during COVID, because I recognized that lies were being told. And I didn't want to tell lies," Lake said. "I think a lot of people who are currently in the media need to take a long look in the mirror and ask if it's worth the job. Is it worth the paycheck to have to lie, stoke fear, stoke anger, and push lies?"
She argued that selective coverage has fueled hostility toward conservatives and President Donald Trump's supporters.
"They've been doing that for many years," Lake said. "Now we're seeing what's happening as they've brainwashed a segment of the population. It's happened in the media, it's happening in our education system, it's happening in culture, where they're pushing absolute abject hatred toward people who love this country and want to make our country great again."
Lake concluded that journalists have a responsibility to reject propaganda.
"It's time for people to walk away from those jobs, come out and say, I can't do it anymore," she said. "I won't do this anymore, and I'd rather walk away than push lies and propaganda."
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