Trump chooses Kari Lake to lead Voice of America

• "Kari was a beloved News Anchor in Anchor in Arizona, which supported me by record margins, for over 20 years," he added in reference to the state that elected Trump in November but voted for President Biden in 2020.

State of play: Lake had a 30-year media career in Arizona before unsuccessfully running for looking to go into politics.

• The staunch Trump supporter unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in Arizona last month.
• She was also the defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2022 and unsuccessfully challenged the results.

VOA was established in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda with unbiased news and information.

• It's funded by the government through the U.S. Agency for Global Media and is governed by a longstanding charter that legally requires the VOA to report "accurate, objective, and comprehensive" news abroad, per Axios' media correspondent Sara Fischer.

By the numbers: VOA broadcasts in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly global audience of more than 354 million people.

What she's saying: Lake said on X she's "honored" that Trump asked her to lead VOA.

• "Under my leadership, the VOA will excel in its mission: chronicling America's achievements worldwide," she added.

Flashback: Two top VOA officials resigned from their posts in 2020 after the Trump White House accused the independent international news agency of promoting Chinese propaganda in its coverage of the COVID pandemic.

What's next: Trump said he would announce his pick to run the U.S. Agency for Global Media soon.

Go deeper: Senate GOP leader hopefuls swarm Kari Lake for MAGA cred

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.