WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson is taking heat from some Republicans over Tuesday’s appearance as a surrogate for former President Donald Trump, much of it citing Johnson’s strong Christian viewpoint.
“Have to admit I’m surprised that @SpeakerJohnson wants to be in the ‘I cheated on my wife with a porn star’ club,” said former congresswoman and ardent Trump foe Liz Cheney on the social media site X, formerly Twitter.
Cheney, a former member of House leadership who voted to impeach Trump after the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, also said of Johnson: “I guess he’s not that concerned with teaching morality to our young people after all.”
The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump political organization that includes former Republicans, said on X: “So good of pious Mike Johnson to show support for cheating on your wife with a porn star, paying her hush money to cover it up, and falsifying business records so America doesn’t find out about it before an election.”
The porn reference is to Stormy Daniels, who testified against Trump last week.
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Johnson, who has said that “my faith informs everything I do,” said he wanted to support Trump because he believes the hush money trial and other cases pending against the Republican presidential candidate are unfair, especially in an election year.
“These are politically motivated trials and they are a disgrace,” Johnson told reporters outside the courthouse in New York City.
Johnson also attacked judicial officials and witnesses like former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and said he is “disgusted” by what he called efforts to keep Trump “off the campaign trail.”
Other high-profile Republicans appear on Trump’s behalf
Johnson is one of several high-profile Republicans to travel to New York City to back up Trump, whose comments on the trial are limited by a judicial order.
The Trump backer brigade includes Republican vice presidential possibilities like Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Johnson, who was elected speaker in 2023 to replace the deposed Kevin McCarthy, is especially indebted to Trump. The former president has defended Johnson against efforts to remove him led by firebrand U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
