Both Kirk and Bowyer acknowledged that they know DeWitt personally and the recording was "not a good look."
Kirk however revealed that this type of "backroom deal" bribery is not an isolated occurrence. Bowyer in fact was propositioned for a bribe by John McCain when he was the County Chairman of Maricopa County and that it was very similar to the "Kari conversation."
"These things happen everywhere, all the time," Bowyer revealed.
While Bowyer contemplated if "the people back east" described in the recording really exist, Kirk said "it felt kind of real."
"Let me tell you what I do know," Bowyer stated. "The national Republican apparatus hates Donald Trump, they hate Kari Lake, they hate Charlie Kirk ... they hate me ... they don't like MAGA, they don't like this new conservative movement because the movement is getting away from them."
"So," he explained, "they want people that are controllable," adding that "Kari Lake's not controllable."
He revealed he also received calls about a year ago from people within the "national Republican apparatus" asking what they could do to "keep Kari Lake out of it" to which he responded, "you're not going to."
"What are you talking about? She is Arizona," he told them.
"It plays into this idea that there is this puppeteering class that throws money around to manipulate our elections," Kirk replied. "I've just never seen a video so naked in the way it does. I mean, he said, is there a number?"
Bowyer admitted that he thought DeWitt was in the middle of this situation.
"What the conservative movement has to be focused on is that, that national apparatus, they exist, it still exists," he said. "With or without Jeff, right? Even with or without Ronna, it still exists, right?" but added that DeWitt should still 100 percent "be doing the opposite."
The RNC and the national apparatus, he said, have "done nothing to say how they're going to help Kari, they've done nothing to say how they're going to help Trump here in Arizona this election cycle, there's been no dollars given."
"I think some of the pressure sometimes gets to people," he said, but added that "We've got to focus on getting rid of the apparatus, this behind-the-scenes, invisible hand that tries to do these things, and we have to have a grassroots party."
