House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Newsmax that he wants all Americans to "see the shame" that Democrats displayed during President Donald Trump's Tuesday night State of the Union address.
Johnson said during post-address coverage that congressional Democrats were "shameful."
Democrats in the chamber tried a combination of yelling remarks at Trump while he was speaking to wearing clothing with protest messages. More than a handful simply failed to attend.
"I probably could have ejected [some] from the chamber because of their behavior," he said. "But the president handled it so well, and I decided not to do that because I thought it would be better for the American people to see that — to see the shame that they were bringing upon themselves."
Johnson said, in some ways, their behavior was the gift that kept giving.
"And they just continued to do it. They stood at the wrong times, and they refused to stand when they should have."
Johnson added, "I mean, they stood and applauded themselves for voting against the working families tax cuts."
Shaking his head, Johnson continued, "So they voted to impose the largest tax increase in history on the American people, and they clapped for themselves."
What Democrats did, he explained, was provide lots of material for Republican campaign messaging for the upcoming midterm elections. "That video is going to be very valuable to us in the future," said Johnson.
"And on the contrary, they refused to stand when the president said, 'Answer this simple question: The first job of the government in the country is to defend Americans and not illegal aliens.' They sat on their hands for that."
"Their actions and their words speak loudly to the American people, and their record is as shameful as their antics tonight," added Johnson. "We, on the other hand, have a record of success."
Johnson said that while Trump and congressional Republicans have made a lot of progress, they need more time to turn the tide.
"We inherited an absolute disaster from the Biden-Harris administration. Every metric of public policy was a mess."
"We went to work immediately on day one, and we delivered for the people," he said. "We'll continue to do that."
Trump called the first year of his second term in the White House a "turnaround for the ages."
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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