Hobbs, a Democrat, narrowly defeated Lake, a Republican, in the highly watched gubernatorial race during November’s midterms. Hobbs won by less than a percentage point, but Lake has not yet conceded, saying that voter machine problems on the day of the election unjustly disenfranchised day-of voters, who typically skew Republican.
In a video that has spread across social media, Hobbs was seen laughing during her oath of office when asked to repeat, “I will support the Constitution.” Following a brief moment of laughter, Hobbs continued with the oath and became governor.
Several Republicans took issue with her laughter, criticizing it as a violation of decorum and the seriousness of the occasion. Lake amplified the criticism by retweeting the video on her “Kari Lake War Room’’ account on Twitter.
“During her swearing-in ceremony, @katiehobbs laughed and giggled throughout what was supposed to be a dignified process, and refused to say that she would support our constitution,” Lake tweeted. “Everyone enjoy your Banana Republic. And pray that a brave judge puts an end to this charade.”
In a separate tweet, Lake wrote: “Criminals traditionally have a feeling of euphoria when they think they’ve gotten away with a crime.”
Lake also wrote that it is “one of the darkest moments in the history of Arizona,” adding: “We will expose this fraud for the world to see. Justice is coming.”
However, others came to Hobbs’ defense, saying that her laughing was taken out of context.
“This is not a fair characterization. If you watch the whole video you can see that Gov. Hobbs was feeling emotional & made a little joke to her mother (holding the Bible) about how they were both getting choked up,” tweeted Timothy Sandefur, vice president for legal affairs at the Goldwater Institute.
Sandefur said: “In fact, it’s a bit touching. I’m sure I’d get choked up under such circumstances myself.”
So far, Lake has unsuccessfully fought her election loss in court. Last month, Maricopa County Superior Judge Peter Thompson rejected her lawsuit, which initially brought 10 counts aimed at preventing Hobbs from taking office. He ruled that Lake’s lawyers did not provide “clear and convincing” evidence of misconduct by election officials.
She has since appealed that decision, but legal experts have cast doubt on whether this move will be successful.
On Saturday, Lake called for a hand recount of ballots. She has said, without providing evidence, that she believes she won the election by 400,000 to 500,000 votes, rather than losing by about 17,000 votes.
Newsweek reached out to Hobbs’ office for comment.
