Carrie Lake will not serve as Donald Trump’s next US ambassador to Mexico
US: The president-elect has appointed veteran CIA officer Ron Johnson to be the next U.S. ambassador to Mexico, replacing Arizona Republican Kari Lake.
According to a story published Monday by Semafor, which claimed anonymous sources, Lake was a leading candidate for the important diplomatic post in Trump’s future government. According to The Hill, there had been weeks of speculations in Mexico that Lake was a candidate for the position.
Johnson, Trump’s former ambassador to El Salvador, was named his choice for the Mexico post on Tuesday. “Ron will work closely with our great secretary of state nominee, Marco Rubio, to promote our nation’s security and prosperity through strong America First foreign policies,” Trump said on Truth Social.
After Trump takes office, the position of ambassador to Mexico may become even more significant. Trump’s hard-line deportation tactics and proposals to slap a 25 percent tax on products from Mexico unless the government addresses the flow of illegal migrant crossings and narcotics like fentanyl may strain diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Mexico.
Hours before Trump named Johnson his choice for ambassador to Mexico, Lake posted a mysterious message on social media. “Watching the Fake News repeatedly humiliate themselves is entertaining,” Lake said on X, the previous Twitter.
Outside of usual business hours, Newsweek sent an email requesting response from a representative for Lake, the Trump transition team, and an office associated with Johnson.
During her Senate campaign in Arizona, Lake, a fervent Trump supporter and 2020 election denialist, backed Trump’s position on strict immigration laws. In the election held on November 5, Democrat Ruben Gallego defeated Lake. She also lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election.
Citing unsupported allegations of vote anomalies, Lake has repeatedly attempted—and failed—to have the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial results overturned in court. Lake has not surrendered either campaign.
“Kari Lake loses again,” wrote Barry Markson, a Phoenix, Arizona, lawyer and radio talk show presenter, on X after Trump announced Johnson’s candidacy.
“Kari Lake was not appointed ambassador to Mexico,” the Patriotic Takes account, which claims to be committed to “exposing right-wing extremism,” continued. After four years of harsh rhetoric in Arizona, it seems that she is now fleeing. Perhaps she feared the cartels.
Johnson was a U.S. Army Green Beret and worked for the CIA for more than 20 years.
On June 27, 2019, the Senate confirmed him as ambassador to El Salvador. Additionally, a simple majority vote in the Senate will be needed to approve Johnson’s appointment as ambassador to Mexico.
“Ron, congratulations. “We will work together to eradicate migrant crime, halt the illicit entry of fentanyl and other harmful substances into our nation, and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN,” Trump said.
