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Sen. Mike Lee — Constitutional Scholar or Online Edgelord?

Sen. Mike Lee speaks at the Utah Republican Party organizing convention at Utah Valley University in Orem, May 17, 2025.
Sean Higgins
/
KUER
Sen. Mike Lee speaks at the Utah Republican Party organizing convention at Utah Valley University in Orem, May 17, 2025.

Minnesota lawmaker Rep. Melissa Hortman was murdered on June 14. The next day, Utah Sen. Mike Lee wrote on X, “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.”

Lee appeared to be blaming the left for Hortman’s death. Her husband was killed in the attack, too, and earlier that morning, alleged gunman Vance Boelter had also targeted state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife. Both survived. Since Lee’s comments, he’s faced a firestorm of criticism, as well as calls for his resignation. Minnesota’s Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat, confronted Lee directly, calling his post painful and cruel. We’re processing these events on the show today, and asking what Sen. Mike Lee, once a fierce critic of President Trump, hopes to gain from his dramatic turn to the far right.

GUESTS –

Tim Alberta | Staff writer at The Atlantic. We spoke with him in September about Mike Lee’s turn to Donald Trump. We’re revisiting some of that conversation. You can hear the whole thing here.

Robert Gehrke | Politics reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune.

Airdate: Wed., June 19, 2025 at 9 a.m. and Sat., June 21, 2025 at 11 a.m.

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