Well, the attacks against the new House Speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), have already started.
The first question he got from a reporter after being elected addressed the amicus brief that Johnson wrote and was signed by roughly 100 members of the GOP caucus in the House.
The question was immediately greeted by jeers and calls for the reporter to “shut up.”
And So It Begins…
ABC News reporter Rachel Scott asked Johnson about his role in Trump’s attempt to “overturn” the 2020 election.
She asked, "Mr. Johnson, you helped lead the efforts to help overturn the 2020 election results, do you—?"
It took about half a second for the members surrounding Johnson to unleash…
After that outburst, she also asked Johnson if he would support more aid for Israel and Ukraine, and she received a similar response.
Johnson tried to shut that narrative down by saying, "We’re not doing policy tonight. Any other questions? Other than that, thank you for being here."
Trump’s critics were quick to jump all over the presser, pretty much as we predicted. Anyone that is even remotely associated with Trump is going to get attacked…
BREAKING: There isn't one loyal American shown in this video. This is the face of fascism. https://t.co/M1OF91QIBZ
— Keith Olbermann⌚️ (@KeithOlbermann) October 25, 2023
In one 13 second clip, the cowardice of Trump’s Republican Party so perfectly displayed.👇 https://t.co/oTPnFfyceZ
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) October 25, 2023
And of course...
Everyone is being thrown in jail for this lie and they smile like clowns. https://t.co/oZse5Yn5M1
— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@AdamKinzinger) October 25, 2023
This narrative is not going to go away for Johnson, someone who had pretty much stayed under the radar to this point.
Even though he wrote the amicus brief to support the lawsuit by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to nullify the election results in four battleground states lost by Trump, he was pretty much an anonymous member of Congress except for true political junkies.
Even I never saw him coming as a possible Speaker, so that tells you just how much he pokes his head up.
Things are not going to get easier, Mr. Speaker, and most of the fun has not even started yet. Just wait until Minority Leader Jeffries (D-N.Y.) starts to ramp up his attacks.
