President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he's nominating Kari Lake to take over as director of Voice of America. But what is it?
According to the organization's website, VOA is "the largest U.S. international broadcaster, providing news and information in nearly 50 languages to an estimated weekly audience of more than 354 million people."
Created in 1942, VOA says it is committed to providing news coverage and content through digital, television, and radio platforms. The broadcaster is federally funded and falls under the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees all non-military international broadcasting by the U.S.
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In a statement, Trump said he was "pleased" to pick Lake to lead the VOA.
"She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media," said Trump.
Lake, meanwhile, is a former television news anchor turned staunch Trump loyalist, who campaigned in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race but lost to current Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. She also campaigned this year for one of Arizona's open U.S. Senate seats but was again edged out by Democrat Ruben Gallego, despite Trump's election win in the state.
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Lake said Wednesday she was "honored" to receive the president-elect's nomination for director of VOA.
"Under my leadership, the VOA will excel in its mission: chronicling America's achievements worldwide," Lake said in a statement. "Thank you for putting trust in me, President Trump. I look forward to leading the Voice of America, and I can't wait to get started."
In a sit-down interview with Scripps News earlier this year, Lake spoke about her frustrations with traditional media outlets, claiming that "the fake news has spent many years being biased." She added that "the media has to do better" and claimed "people are fed up" with what she described as "attacks" on Trump.
