What did Kari Lake say about Paul Pelosi? Republican candidate slammed for insensitive joke on brutal attack 

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul Pelosi was brutally attacked with a hammer during a home invasion incident last week on October 28, 2022. The former was reportedly in Washington at the time of the break-in.

In the wake of the incident, Arizona Republican candidate for governor, Kari Lake, came under fire for cracking an insensitive joke about the attack.

Speaking about security in schools during a Scottsdale campaign event on Monday, October 31, Lake stated:

“It is not impossible to protect our kids at school, they act like it is. Nancy Pelosi, well, she’s got protection when she’s in DC, apparently, her house doesn’t have a lot of protection.”

She further added:

“If our lawmakers can have protection, if our politicians can have protection, if our athletes, then certainly the most important people in our lives — our children — should have protection.”

Although Lake managed to illicit laughter from the crowd attending her event, she was criticized for the nature of her joke online.

---

Twitter reacts to Kari Lake’s joke on Paul Pelosi attack

Netizens called out Kari Lake for joking about Paul Pelosi's home invasion attack (Image via Getty Images)

On October 31, Paul Pelosi sparked major concern across the US after he was attacked with a hammer by home intruder David DePape. The incident led to his hospitalization, as he sustained “serious injuries to his right arm and hands” as well as a “skull fracture.”

While Pelosi underwent successful surgery and remained in the ICU for further recovery, Arizona GOP governor candidate Kari Lake joked about the attack during her campaign event.

Following her remarks, several social media users took to Twitter to call out the politician for her joke:

Amid the ongoing backlash, Kari Lake spoke about her comments during an interview with Tucker Carlson, stating:

“We can’t talk about all these issues, because the media has told us they’re prohibited. You can’t talk about vaccines, you can’t talk about elections, you can’t talk about Paul Pelosi, and now you can’t talk about Nancy Pelosi.”

She added:

"I’m talking about all of those things.”

A video of Kari Lake’s speech was also shared on CNN’s The Morning. Host Don Lemon called her remark “vile,” while correspondent Audie Cornish called out her audience:

“When it comes to Kari Lake, to be honest, the thing that worries me most is the audience laughter. Not the comment. That's on all of us.”

Lemon further added:

“The man sitting next to her, the moderator is just belly laughing because he thinks something like that is funny and the audience is laughing as well.”

He also noted that several other Republicans are also making controversial remarks about Paul Pelosi’s attack and called the situation “awful,” stating:

“There have been some Republicans who have spoken out. Mitch McConnell and others. [Kevin] McCarthy, but for the most part, it's been very muted, and there are people who are saying things, like Don Jr., tweeting stuff, don't even put up the video of it. It is awful what they're doing.”

On Monday night, Nancy Pelosi issued a statement saying that husband Paul Pelosi is“making steady progress” but will undergo a “long recovery process.”