Kari Lake discusses taxes, border in one-on-one Arizona’s Family interview

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake met with Arizona’s Family for a one-on-one interview on Tuesday afternoon. Arizona’s Family political editor Dennis Welch sat down at Lake’s campaign office to discuss several topics, including taxes and the border.

“What is Kari Lake’s political philosophy?” Arizona’s Family politcal editor Dennis Welch asked. “I mean, I think it’s getting back to the Constitution, freedom, individual rights, liberty for all. And the ability to have a chance and have a shot at the American dream. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to work. That doesn’t mean things are handed to you. It means you’re going to have the opportunity,” Lake explained.

From the start of her campaign, Lake has made it clear she will be tough on the border. If elected, Lake says she’s going to stop fentanyl from coming into the state. Arizona’s Family dug into the numbers and found over the past four years, more than 80% of fentanyl seized came through federal ports of entry. This year, nearly 85% was seized at the ports, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

However, state Governors have no power over federal ports, so Welch asked Lake if she planned on following the lead of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has enforced additional inspections for commercial truck drivers near the border. “We may have to do things like that. We’re going to send a very loud message to the cartels. And they’re either going to get the message, or they’re not, and we may have to do more inspections, random inspections. But what we’re not going to do is sit on the sidelines and watch our state be overrun by drug runners and smugglers,” Lake said.

The former news anchor also shot down doubts about her political experience coming from the news business. “My qualifications are I have a great understanding of Arizona. I’ve covered this state for nearly three decades so I know the issues. Very few jobs require that you walk in the door, wrap your arms around the biggest issues facing the state that day, figure out what those issues are, and then break it down into an understandable story for the people to understand,” she explained.

WATCH: Uncut one-on-one interview with Kari Lake

Inflation has been hitting many Arizonans hard, and Lake spoke about taxes affecting everyday people. “So we’re going to get rid of the food tax. It won’t affect every single city but it will affect I think two-thirds. And we’re going to get rid of the rental tax. That’s going to help people immediately deal with Joe Biden’s economy,” she said.

The nominee dove into Arizona’s healthcare system during the pandemic, calling COVID-19 shots “experimental.” “We’re going to have to take a better look of how we handle health emergencies from here on out. Because we will not be forcing anybody to get a shot, an experimental shot, against their will in order to be able and go put food on the table. We’re not going to be pushing experimental shots on people in Arizona.” However, the COVID-19 vaccine and boosters have all been CDC approved.

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