As the former President of the United States and frontrunner to once again be the Republican nominee for the White House in 2024, Donald Trump remains the standard bearer for the party.
Trump hasn’t been shy sharing his opinions on the GOP’s issues electing and keeping party leaders.
And now, the former President sent the RINOs in the party reeling with six simple words about the new Speaker of the House.
A gift and a curse
One of the few bright spots of the 2022 midterm election cycle was Republicans winning a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Little did the party know at the time that obtaining the majority would turn out to be not just a blessing but a curse.
The first order of business was appointing a new Speaker of the House, and that ended up being far more complicated than it sounds.
It took 15 ballots before Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California was finally able to secure enough support to take the gavel.
In order for the former Minority Leader to secure the promotion, he made a lot of concessions to members of the Freedom Caucus.
And like too many politicians, McCarthy did not think his promises were binding, but he found out that some Republicans will hold you accountable.
After one compromise too many with Democrats, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida called for a vote to oust McCarthy as Speaker after only about eight months in the position.
The Speaker shuffle
And that’s when things got really messy.
Republicans appeared to have no answers ready as to who would replace McCarthy.
There were even attempts to get Trump to fill the vacancy.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana was next in line but failed to eclipse the 217 votes needed to secure the Speaker’s gavel.
Next up was one of the leaders of the America First movement, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Jordan came close on a couple ballots, but like Scalise before him, he could not corral the magic number of votes.
At that point, it was anyone’s guess who would be the next Speaker.
Several names were floated as potential candidates.
And rumors even began to swirl that RINOs would work with Democrats to form a coalition government.
For a bit, it looked like a George Soros-linked Congressman, Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, was going to be tapped as the next leader.
Fortunately, sometime after being nominated but before the ballot, Emmer dropped his bid.
From there, conservative Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana emerged as the party’s next nominee.
And then Johnson was able to win the Speakership with unanimous party support.
What does Donald Trump think of Mike Johnson?
The press is freaking out about Johnson as the new Speaker of the House, as he’s likely the most conservative Speaker that anyone can remember.
Mike Johnson is Jim Jordan with a jacket. https://t.co/oCUTuDvXls
— Santiago Mayer (@santiagomayer_) October 25, 2023
The same attack has been making the rounds, saying Johnson is simply “Jim Jordan in a jacket,” as though that puts him on the same moral ground as the Devil.
Perhaps what Big Media is most upset about is former President Trump’s support of Johnson as the new Speaker.
The 45th President of the United States was quick to sing Johnson’s praises on his Truth Social platform.
“Congratulations to Rep. Mike Johnson,” Trump posted. “He will be a GREAT SPEAKER. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump has a keen sense for political public relations, and he knew the Speaker shuffle was causing many Americans to lose faith in his party’s ability to govern.
Before Johnson’s election, Trump was urging the party to get on the Johnson bandwagon.
“My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson, & GET IT DONE, FAST,” Trump posted.
Even the moderates in the party took the former President’s sage advice and supported Johnson’s Speaker candidacy.
Now, time will tell if Johnson is able to last longer than his predecessor, McCarthy, and with the 2024 election cycle right around the corner, the GOP desperately needs this Speakership to work out.
