Mike Johnson, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, expressed concern that the United States was turning into a dictatorship. He said in a press conference on Wednesday to caution That “Marxist ideology [is] “Control the Democratic Party” and could “soon turn us into a communist state.” On Thursday, while taking calls on C-SPAN, Johnson It was invoked language Communist Manifesto: “What if the socialists took control of the Senate, and the social democrats took charge, and wanted to grow the government and seize the means of production?”
Johnson is not wrong to fear dictatorship in this country. He is wrong about the source of this threat. It’s coming from his party. He paves the way.
To bring democracy under authoritarian control, you need more than just a strongman. We need politicians to assure the public, as we slide toward one-man rule, that nothing strange is happening. This is the role Johnson plays in Donald Trump’s control of America.
On September 20, Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to issue indictments and convictions against three political targets. “What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, and Leticia??? They are all very guilty.” directions Bondi in a social post for the truth. “We cannot delay any longer… Justice must be served now!!!”
Everyone has seen Trump’s message. For days, this was the talk of the political world. But Johnson pretended that did not happen. On September 28, CNN’s Jake Tapper spoke he asked Speaker: “Aren’t you afraid that any president would say to a prosecutor, ‘Go after these three political opponents?’” Johnson replied, deadpan: “I don’t think that’s what he did.”
Two days after that interview, and after Trump orchestrated the indictment against Comey Overthrow Attorney General and appointed Lindsay Halligan, one of his former personal lawyers, to get the job done – CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin asked the speaker about this clearly authoritarian move. “My understanding is that the previous prosecutor refused to bring the case, because they didn’t think it was a strong enough case,” Sorkin said Notice. “So, you have a situation where the president has effectively directed his lawyers to bring this case.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Johnson objected. He said Halligan’s decision to bring the case, after Trump fired the previous prosecutor for not filing it, was a perfectly good example of “prosecutor discretion.”
On Thursday, Piers Morgan the pressure Johnson about “the retaliatory action now underway against all opponents of Trump,” starting with Comey. Morgan asked the speaker: “Are you comfortable with this?” In response, Johnson claimed that the prosecution of Comey was not only permissible; It was a moral imperative. “There is a certain responsibility” in “making an example of these people” — “not because they were on the wrong side of President Trump at some point, but because they lied to Congress,” Johnson said.
The idea that Trump cares about lying to Congress is farcical. he Sorry Roger Stone, his intermediary in interfering in the Russian elections in 2016, after Stone convicted By lying to Congress. Trump also pressured Comey, then FBI director, to no avail Drop the investigation To Mike Flynn — and later Trump Sorry Flynn – L Lying to the FBI About his contacts with Russia. Trump did not orchestrate the indictment of Comey to send the message that you cannot lie to Congress or law enforcement. He did it to send the message that you can’t get past Trump.
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Johnson is also happy to apologize for Trump’s public bigotry.
On September 29, Trump posted a fake video Sarcastically Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, who came to the White House to discuss legislation to avert a government shutdown. The video inserted self-deprecating profanities into Schumer’s mouth. To reinforce the Trump-Johnson lie that Democrats only cared about it Illegal immigrantsthe video depicts Jeffries wearing a sombrero while Mexican music plays in the background.
When Johnson was asked on CBS about the video and Jeffries’ dissatisfaction with it, he responded Scold Jefferies. “He’s got to loosen up,” Johnson said. “The president was joking.”
At a news conference the next day, Johnson defended Trump again. “Is he trolling Democrats? Yes.” He said The speaker is smiling. “This is what President Trump does. And people enjoy this.”
This is the same Mike Johnson once released a report He warns his colleagues that wasteful government programs are “no laughing matter.”
Trump is also sending troops to American cities Against the will Of state and local officials, Johnson – of Calls Himself a “constitutional law lawyer” – vigorously defends the president.
On September 30, Trump He said US military leaders said the cities “run by radical left Democrats…San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles – are very unsafe places. And we’re going to get them right one by one. And that’s going to be a major part of it for some people in this room. It’s a war, too. It’s a war from within.”
“We should be using some of these dangerous cities as training sites for our military,” Trump said. “We’re going to Chicago very soon.” He spoke of plans to create a “quick reaction force that can help quell civil unrest. This will be a big deal for the people in this room, because it is the enemy within. We have to deal with it before it gets out of control.”
Two days later, when Johnson was asked about Trump’s threatening words, he said it was not his administration. “I don’t serve in the Pentagon. I run the House of Representatives.” He begged.
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A week ago, Johnson went further. on Learn about journalism, motive Trump’s plan to wage war in American cities, calling it a “war on crime.” In particular, he said that Trump was justified in sending troops to Washington, D.C., because until that point — according to Johnson — the city had been “literally a war zone.”
And when the president calls for imprisoning local officials who don’t cooperate with his military takeover, Johnson defends that, too.
In Wednesday’s Social Truth post, Trump Announce“The Mayor of Chicago should be in jail for failing to protect ice officers! Governor Pritzker too!”
Hours later, a reporter he asked Johnson: “Do you agree that the mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois should be in prison?” Johnson struggled with the question:
Should they be in prison? or. (Pause) Should the mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois be in prison? or. (Pause) I’m not the prosecutor. I’m the Speaker of the House, and I’m trying to manage the chaos here. I don’t follow day to day on it. I know they resisted introducing, uh-[Johnson switched terms here to make it sound less like an invasion] Or the National Guard parade in Chicago, which is a very dangerous city. . .
This is the voice of a man who will do nothing to challenge — or anything to justify — presidential violations of the Constitution, so long as the president belongs to his party.
The American founders expected better leaders than Johnson. They thought Congress would do it Checks President. They did not believe that one branch would completely surrender to another.
“Have you ever voted against anything Trump has put forward, policy-wise?” Caller he asked Johnson on C-SPAN.
The speaker did not mention a single thing. “I usually vote for President Trump, because that’s my party,” he said.
Nothing Trump has done — the show trials, the prison threats, the invasions of American cities — has shaken this blind devotion.
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