Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has called on her party's presidential candidates to suspend their 2024 campaigns and rally behind Donald Trump.
Lake, who has been floated as a potential running mate if Trump wins the GOP nomination, made the suggestion in a statement issued to Twitter on Tuesday following the former president's federal indictment as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The Republican, who has never conceded defeat in the 2022 Arizona governor's race, again called on Trump's 2024 rivals to suspend their campaigns during an interview with Newsmax on Tuesday.
A grand jury indicted Trump on Tuesday on four charges in the Capitol riot probe: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.
Trump denies all wrongdoing and he has repeatedly criticized the special counsel's probe, claiming it's politically motivated. In a social media post on Tuesday, he accused Smith of "Prosecutorial Misconduct."
"This is the most egregious case of election interference in the history of our country," Lake said in a statement. "This [is] a battle that a unified Republican party MUST fight. Otherwise, we will lose this country forever."
"That is why I am calling on all Republican candidates for President to immediately suspend their campaigns, stop wasting hard-earned donor money and rally around our nominee, President Donald J. Trump," Lake said.
This latest SHAM indictment is the line in the sand.
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) August 1, 2023
That's why I'm calling on all Republican primary candidates to suspend their campaigns & rally around President Donald J. Trump.
READ my full statement ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/4VhQWLhghj
Several high-profile Republicans have entered the race to challenge Trump for the GOP nomination, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign via email for comment.
Speaking on Newsmax's Eric Bolling The Balance on Tuesday, Lake said: "They can throw 10 more indictments at President Trump, and it's only going to make his supporters more emboldened to support him."
"This is election interference unlike anything we've ever seen before," she said. "They know they can't stop him because the people want him back in office."
Lake said that the Republicans running against Trump for the party's 2024 nomination need to speak out and support him in order to save the United States.
"I really believe that those other people running in the Republican race should stand up, speak out in support of President Trump, talk about how this is an injustice unlike we've ever seen with our Department of Justice going after an innocent man," she said.
"And frankly, though should suspend their campaigns and step behind and support President Trump and the American people so we can save this great country."
Trump's opponents had mixed reactions to Tuesday's indictment, with some openly criticizing the former president and others taking aim at the indictment and the Department of Justice.
Lake is a close ally of Trump and has echoed his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. She has also claimed that she is the rightful winner of Arizona's 2022 gubernatorial race.
She was defeated by Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs by more than 17,000 votes but has challenged the outcome of the election in the courts, alleging irregularities in how the election had been conducted.
