Moments After Democrats Save Him, Mike Johnson Runs to Establishment Media to Trash Trump

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) granted an interview to establishment media only “a few hours after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) attempt to oust him” to trash Donald Trump — the man Johnson conveniently clung to when his speakership hung in the balance.

Johnson sat down for an extensive “deep dive” interview Wednesday night with Politico so quickly after the vote to end his speakership that Johnson claimed he was not even aware which eleven Republicans voted against him.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens during a news conference on April 12, 2024, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

In what Politico called an “SNL-worthy” send up, Johnson used the interview to caricature Trump praising Johnson:

Johnson was impersonating Donald Trump talking about Mike Johnson.

The speaker of the House had the mannerisms down — that thing Trump does with his hands — and the facial tics. The voice was close to SNL-worthy.

“Mike is straight out of central casting,” fake Trump said…

“He’s a good speaker of the House,” he continued…

“I’ve liked him!” Johnson-as-Trump boasted.

Johnson’s bold antics have rarely been undertaken by other Republicans, who have taken care to treat Trump with respect or else face his wrath.

The speaker’s exhaustion on the job might have caused a lapse in judgment. Johnson has repeatedly lamented the job’s demands taking a toll on his sleep schedule. On Tuesday he told reporters he is not “getting enough sleep these days” just hours before letting the veil slip momentarily and insulting Greene.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), speak to members of the press while exiting the U.S. Capitol after introducing a motion to vacate on the floor of the House of Representatives seeking to remove Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) from his leadership position on May 8, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The much younger Johnson’s complaints about sleep are in stark contrast to Trump, who has claimed to sleep only 4 or 5 hours each night.

If Johnson has been losing sleep, it apparently was due to the routines of the job, not Greene’s threats. “I didn’t think they would go through with it,” he told Politico after the vote. (Breitbart News repeatedly reported on the upcoming vote in the days leading up to Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) forcing it on the floor, despite predictions from Politico and other establishment media.)

Politico’s piece expands on why Johnson might feel emboldened enough to risk lambasting Trump:

Johnson seems to have picked the lock of Trump relationship management, getting the former president to stand down on the aid package and the motion to vacate.

So if that Trump impersonation makes it sound like the speaker is in a good mood, it’s because he is.

Johnson, with his speakership safe in the hands of 163 Democrats, used the interview to rule out any attempt to use Congress’s constitutional power of the purse to defund special counsel Jack Smith’s lawfare against Trump.

Before that revelation, Johnson had remained mum on the matter.

Earlier in the week, Trump — whose hands are tied by Judge Merchan’s gag order — signaled his support for defunding Smith’s office. He signed a printout of a Greene statement about her defund strategy, writing “Great!” in his iconic magic marker.

While Johnson, a former high school theater actor, seems to have nailed down his imitation of Trump’s voice, Trump and his allies likely would prefer Johnson adopt Trump’s agenda instead of furthering Johnson’s coalition government with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and throwing embattled President Joe Biden November lifelines in the form of major policy wins.

After all, “imitation,” as Johnson told Politico, “is the greatest form of flattery.”

Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.