During a recent trip to a gym undertaken by Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, she encountered a reporter with the far-right website The Gateway Pundit who followed her through the premises and peppered the first-term chief executive with deceptive questions about the 2022 elections, in which Hobbs won her current role.
Hobbs was predictably unimpressed. “Give it a fucking rest, Jordan,” Hobbs told the heckler. “I’m at the gym.” The trailing far-right agitator asked for clarification that Hobbs had, in fact, said something to that effect, and the governor answered affirmatively. Footage of the encounter was shared on Twitter by an account going by PatriotTakes.
Hobbs defeated Republican Kari Lake in last year’s general election, and with Republicans prevailing in state legislative races, Hobbs has ended up in a position to veto some of the state party’s more threatening proposals. In a particularly galling example, the Arizona legislature actually passed a proposal to criminalize homelessness that if enacted would have threatened individuals living in homeless encampments with criminal charges simply on account of their presence there. Hobbs predictably vetoed the measure. She’s also put a stop to some of the local GOP’s initiatives around elections and attempts to thwart opportunities for acceptance for gender non-conforming students.
Lake, meanwhile, might run for Senate, with the Arizona seat currently held by Kyrsten Sinema set to go before voters next year. In theory, Lake could also be a potential running mate for Donald Trump in the 2024 general election, which Donald seems likely to reach unless there is some genuinely seriously incapacitating outcome from one of his criminal cases. Sinema was elected as a Democrat but has since changed her party affiliation to, well, none, re-registering as an independent. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) seems likely to be the Democratic nominee, and Democrats in the state are already gearing up to support Gallego instead of Sinema even if she runs next fall for another six years.
See the Hobbs footage below:
Governor Katie Hobbs to Gateway Pundit reporter chasing her and asking election denier questions: “Give it a fucking rest, Jordan. I’m at the gym.” pic.twitter.com/lagV65Z1e9
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) July 7, 2023
Image: Gage Skidmore/ Creative Commons
