Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers recently promoted Arizona Republicans’ sham “audit” of the 2020 election on TruNews, an outlet that warns viewers about the supposed threat of “seditious Jews,” “a Jewish cabal,” and “Jewish tyrants.” The interview was co-hosted by white nationalist and QAnon conspiracy theorist Lauren Witzke.
TruNews is an antisemitic network that regularly promotes toxic rhetoric, as Right Wing Watch has documented. TruNews claimed that there was a “Jew coup” against former President Donald Trump and that “seditious Jews” were “orchestrating” his “impeachment lynching.” Founder and host Rick Wiles said on the network: “That’s the way the Jews work, they are deceivers, they plot, they lie, they do whatever they have to do to accomplish their political agenda.” He added: “You have been taken over by a Jewish cabal.” Wiles claimed last month that “the American people are being oppressed by Jewish tyrants.”
The outlet has aired numerous other conspiracy theories and other bigoted remarks, including Wiles’ claim that “white Europeans” have been pushed off the land while “we have a brown invasion that has come in”; and anti-LGBTQ comments. It is also a platform for violent rhetoric. The Trump White House repeatedly gave press access to TruNews.
Rogers appeared on TruNews on June 18, where she was interviewed by Witzke and co-host Edward Szall. The Twitter account AZ Right Wing Watch documented the appearance the following day.
Witzke is a former Republican-backed U.S. Senate nominee and a white nationalist. During a March appearance on the white nationalist podcast No White Guilt, which is on YouTube, she said: “We were founded by white Christian men who came to this country fleeing religious persecution. As we have given our country away not only by Third World migration, but also to degeneracy, progressivism, and it's dismantling our social fabric.” During the same appearance, she echoed the “great replacement” theory, stating: “We have open borders with illegal immigration. It's 1.1 million legally, by the way, too, you know. So we are literally replacing the American people and there's nowhere for us to go, you know? So we have to stand up and we have to fight for our country and we have to be unapologetic to fight for our families.”
Witzke is also linked to other white nationalist outlets and figures, including the publication VDare; radio host James Edwards; and podcasters John Friend and Nick Fuentes. She is also a QAnon conspiracy theorist and an anti-LGBTQ bigot.
Rogers is a Republican who represents District 6 in the Arizona state Senate. During her interview with TruNews, Rogers promoted the Republicans’ sham audit of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona and said that she has hosted legislators from other states. She also reiterated that she’s a member of the violence-linked Oath Keepers and praised the militia organization as “a disaster preparedness group,” claiming that “what we represent is absolutely wonderful and necessary and a good thing.” Rogers additionally used her appearance on the show to promote her website and social media accounts.
Toward the start of the interview, Witzke told Rogers: “We’re all really big fans here and thank you for fighting for us.” After the interview, Witzke said that “she is my favorite state legislator.”
Rogers promoted her TruNews interview on her social media accounts and her campaign website and thanked Witzke.
