Wayne Allyn Root and Kari Lake push conspiracy theory that opponent’s campaign is funded by “the Mexican drug cartel”

Root: “This is not clean money. This is dirty money in small amounts, they keep it under the radar.”

Written by Eric Hananoki

Published

Right-wing conspiracy theorist Wayne Allyn Root claimed during an interview with Arizona Republican Senate nominee Kari Lake that opponent Ruben Gallego’s campaign is getting “their money” from Mexican cartels through his estranged father. Lake replied: “Yep, absolutely. The cartels are in operational control here in Arizona.” 

The conspiracy theory is false. After Lake made similar remarks on Newsmax with right-wing host Greg Kelly last month, PolitiFact examined the claims and wrote: “Gallego’s father has been largely absent from Gallego’s life since Gallego was in junior high school and his parents divorced” and “there’s no evidence that Gallego has ‘links to the cartel’ because of his father’s criminal history. Lake’s campaign provided no evidence to support that claim.” 

Root is a right-wing conspiracy theorist who recently forwarded the conspiracy theory that Hurricane Helene was the result of weather manipulation and said that “everyone involved should be tried for treason. Kamala, [Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas, they all should be tried for treason.” 

During an October 18 interview with Lake, Root pushed a conspiracy theory “that the Democrat Party's being funded by China and the Mexican drug cartel because they do so many favors for them,” such as drug and human trafficking. 

He then said of Gallego: “Your opponent, his dad, is a convicted member of the Mexican drug cartel, drug dealing syndicate. So, I mean, it's pretty obvious to me where they get their money from, Kari. This is not clean money. This is dirty money in small amounts, they keep it under the radar.” 

Lake replied: “Yep, absolutely. The cartels are in operational control here in Arizona.”

From the October 18, 2024, edition of Real America Voice's America’s Top Ten Countdown with Wayne Allyn Root

KARI LAKE: It's a tight race, though, because my opponent, as you mentioned, has spent about $100 million in his money and his friends' money attacking me and then painting him in a false light where he's absolutely not what he says he is. You wouldn't believe how much they've lied about this guy's background. I mean, his whole story is a lie, just like they've lied about Kamala’s background. Yeah, you know, he said he lived in a one room apartment and slept on the floor when, in fact, he actually lived in a kind of a nice suburb in a middle class home. And he didn't sleep on the floor. He said, you know, that his dad dabbled in drug dealing. Well, turns out his dad was a convicted felon, Mexican drug trafficker, really much more high up on the cartel food chain. 

And so it makes you wonder why he's been voting to empower the cartels with his open border votes. It really does make you wonder, especially as we're watching the cartels smuggle drugs in — fentanyl is pouring in through Arizona, killing hundreds of thousands of people every year. We're looking as these drug and narco terrorists smuggle human beings and traffick children. And he has supported that every step of the way, and it's starting to make more sense when you find out about his background.

WAYNE ALLYN ROOT: You know, I talk about it all the time on my show. I'm a businessman and I always give 10% finder's fees to anyone who brings me a deal, right? Sometimes even 15%. I just got a giant deal yesterday and somebody asked for 20 and I said, I'm going to give 15. And we argued and we settled on 15. 

My point is, I believe that the Democrat Party's being funded by China and the Mexican drug cartel because they do so many favors for them. They leave the border open. That's how the fentanyl gets in, that's how the sex trafficking, that's how the human trafficking. Everything they do helps China, helps Iran, and helps the Mexican drug cartel. So that's why the money is flowing to Democrats, and now you've got a new low in Arizona. 

Your opponent, his dad, is a convicted member of the Mexican drug cartel, drug dealing syndicate. So, I mean, it's pretty obvious to me where they get their money from, Kari. This is not clean money. This is dirty money in small amounts, they keep it under the radar. 

LAKE: Yep, absolutely. The cartels are in operational control here in Arizona, and it's really frightening.

Root promoted his interview with Lake by writing: “Watch my TV interview with Kari Lake, the next US Senator from Arizona...if it's not rigged & stolen from her AGAIN.” (Lake is an election denier who has falsely claimed to be the “lawful governor” of Arizona.) 

Media Matters has documented that Lake, who has also been a right-wing commentator, has relied on conspiracy theorists and extremists for political support.