Mike Johnson spills the tea on the toughest job in DC
Fresh from fending off a hard-right coup attempt, the House speaker opened up about his strategy in a lengthy interview.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was riding high this week after a push to oust him led by ultra-conservative provocateur Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) failed by a miserable margin of 359-43. Which was the perfect time for an interview.
Just hours after the vote, POLITICO’s Ryan Lizza and Rachael Bade sat down with Johnson in the speaker’s suite for a free-wheeling conversation about surviving the coup attempt — and what’s next for his speakership. Under a portrait of his idol, Ronald Reagan, Johnson dished on the 11 Republican colleagues who supported the motion against him (“I’d say several of those surprise me”), the president’s mental acuity (“It concerns me deeply”), the advice he got from Kevin McCarthy (“There was a lot of pain for him personally”) and the prospect of a national abortion ban (“No”).
Oh, and they also got Johnson to do his impression of Donald Trump. “I think he’d be flattered by it,” the speaker said.
We’ll leave that for you to decide.
“[They are going to] take an ass-whooping from their base.”
Can you guess who said this about congressional Republicans who supported Johnson against an attempt to take his gavel? Scroll to the bottom for the answer.**
Kristi Noem’s Team Initially Killed the Dog-Killing Story … The now virally infamous story of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem shooting her puppy Cricket in a gravel pit almost came out two years ago, when she pushed to include it in her first book to prove her farm-tough bona fides. She apparently didn’t agree with that decision, because she added it to her new book anyway, shooting herself in the foot in the process. Michael Schaffer has the scoop in this week’s Capital City column.
Stormy Daniels took the stand this week in the Manhattan district attorney’s prosecution against Trump, whose alleged extramarital affair with Daniels years ago ultimately kicked off the series of events leading to his prosecution. The testimony was at times combative as Trump’s lawyers sought to discredit her, but did any of it really matter? Here are some pointers to get through the weekend if you didn’t follow the testimony. (From Ankush Khardori)
- Toss out a provocative detail from Daniels’ testimony. Here’s one: She testified that during the encounter she “swatted” Trump with a magazine “right on the butt.”
- Why stop there? Daniels also testified that Trump told her that he sleeps in a different room than his wife, Melania.
- Knock down the pro-Trump spin that Daniels’ account took major hits during cross-examination because her story changed over time and she wanted to make money by selling her story. The single most important fact that the jury needs to take away is that Trump and Daniels had sex. The rest is peripheral at best.
- Cite a fun fact: The reason that Daniels had to testify is because Trump and his lawyers have (unconvincingly) denied that the two of them had sex. The smart thing for Trump to do as a legal matter would have been to concede this point, but instead, we got a bunch of wildly embarrassing details about the former president’s sexual escapades.
Trump’s Porn-Star Drama Is Turning Evangelicals On … The salacious details coming out of Trump’s hush money trial aren’t exactly appropriate church conversation, but that doesn’t seem to be hurting his appeal with evangelical voters. In fact, according to sociologist Samuel L. Perry, author of Addicted to Lust: Pornography in the Lives of Conservative Protestants, it may actually be increasing evangelical support by affirming conservative Christian notions about masculinity, sexuality and pornography. “In my research, I found that evangelicals tend to see sexual temptation as just a normal part of being a Christian man,” he tells associate editor Dylon Jones.
This Look Inside Trump’s Trial Will Make You Blush … You won’t see any of Daniels’ excruciatingly specific testimony about her alleged affair with Trump on television because cameras aren’t allowed in the courtroom — but our reporters are. To get an inside look at the proceedings — and some expert perspective on how it’s all impacting Trump’s campaign — senior writer Ankush Khardori convened a panel of top POLITICO talent for an inside look at the trial, including signs that it all might just be getting to Trump.
The latest addition to POLITICO Weekend is a longtime fan favorite: Our Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist Matt Wuerker will be adding some color to the newsletter every week in our new feature, Below the Beltway, sharing original cartoons that skewer — or at least crosshatch — the most powerful figures in Washington.
**Who Dissed answer: It was Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, one of only 11 Republicans who supported Greene’s failed move against Johnson.
