On July 4, 2023, failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate and conspiracy theorist Kari Lake appeared on The Josh Bernstein Show where she continued to falsely claim that she won her 2022 race. Lake also told Bernstein, an extremist talk show host that Gov. Katie Hobbs, her former opponent, “should be pulled out by her collar.”

Josh Bernstein has a history of violent and bigoted rhetoric. He has called for the execution of former FBI director James Comey and Rep. Ilhan Omar, and said he was ready to wage violent civil war if Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Bernstein has also defended the use of antisemitic slurs against liberal Jews.

During his interview with Lake, the video of which hilariously describes her as “Arizona’s Real Governor,” Bernstein said he and others were spearheading a recall effort against Gov. Hobbs. Bernstein said that he and other individuals are “working diligently behind the scenes on a recall effort to get rid of this twice-convicted racist Katie Hobbs” because, he claimed, Lake “rightfully won this state by at least 400,000 if not closer to a million votes.”

The phrase “twice-convicted racist” refers to a falsehood stemming from a discrimination lawsuit filed against the Arizona State Senate by Talonya Adams, a former employee, while Hobbs was the Senate minority leader.

Adams alleged that she had been fired over complaints about unequal pay. In 2019 a federal jury found that Adams had been discriminated against and awarded her $1 million. After a federal judge ordered a new trial a jury once again found in her favor and awarded her $2.75 million, which was later reduced to $300,000 due to a cap on employment discrimination judgments.

As the Associated Press notes, Hobbs was not named as a defendant but was involved in the decision to fire Adams, and issued an apology for her role in the matter.

Lake responded to Bernstein’s comment about his recall efforts by saying, “I don’t believe you recall somebody who wasn’t duly elected.” She added that she “already beat her once,” referring to Gov. Hobbs, and that she’s “not gonna open it up and recall someone who shouldn’t be sitting there in the first place.”

Lake lost the 2022 election by 17,117 votes because she failed to win over enough Republican voters. However, much like former president Trump, Lake has responded to her loss by denying reality and filing a lawsuit that was tossed by an Arizona judge.

“You recall somebody who was elected who you don’t like the way they’re operating. She wasn’t elected,” Lake continued.

“She’s sitting in the governor’s office. They’ve stolen our government. And that’s why I’m not taking part in that [recall effort]. I’ve won this election and everybody involved knows it. … This woman should be pulled out by her collar. She doesn’t belong in there and a whole bunch of other people should be pulled out by their collars for the fraud.”

Bernstein agreed with Lake, and said that Hobbs was “fraudulently selected” by the “Maricopa County fraud machine” and is still in power because of “corrupt judges.”