Politics

House Speaker Johnson Meets With Trump After Endorsement

NOV 22 2023·Updated NOV 23 2023

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Image credit: Leah Millis-Pool/Getty Images News via Getty Images (Feb 4. 2020)

The Facts

Republican US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson of Louisiana on Monday made his first visit as speaker to the Mar-a-Lago estate to meet with former Pres. Donald Trump.
nytimes
Johnson — who last week endorsed Trump’s run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination — and Trump together attended an event held by Florida Rep. Gus Bilirakis.
Daily Mail
In endorsing Trump last week on CNBC, Johnson lauded the former president for his "phenomenal first term" and "greatest economic numbers in the history of the world" during Trump’s first two years.
The Hill
Previously, Johnson was central in spreading Trump’s false claims that Pres. Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent, and Trump dubbed Johnson “MAGA Mike” after the latter won the speakership.
The Hill
Johnson’s visit comes after he recently released the complete surveillance footage of the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol, and after he earlier this month faced internal GOP resistance to pass a short-term government funding bill to avert a government shutdown.
ABC News

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The Spin

Republican narrative

Trump is leading all his GOP rivals by a wide margin and has been extending his lead on Biden in the polls, but Trump could benefit from signs of party unity. Johnson's move to endorse Trump is significant, especially since the former president did the same for him in the speaker competition. As the "runner-ups" for the GOP nomination seemingly are focusing on Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, Johnson's endorsement of Trump is a demonstration galvanizing unity around the former president.

Newsmax

Democratic narrative

Any hope that Johnson would express independent will has been dashed. It didn't take long before he went to Mar-a-Lago to show his fealty to the authoritarian impulses of Donald Trump. If Trump returns to the White House, Johnson will clearly be under his full control — a stark warning sign for the American people.

MS Now