At a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, former President Donald Trump spent 12 minutes discussing the late golfer Arnold Palmer, including a controversial reference to Palmer’s genitalia. House Speaker Mike Johnson was questioned by CNN’s Jake Tapper on whether this type of story indicated that Trump was becoming less focused in his speeches. Johnson defended Trump, emphasizing that people care more about his record as president.
“So he has fun at the rallies, he says things that are off the cuff. But I‘m telling you, I‘ve been in those events, I‘ve been in those arenas, and people have a great time at those arenas,” Johnson explained during his appearance on CNN’s State of the Union. “You can cherry-pick a few words or lines out of a two-hour event. We could do that with Kamala Harris after a 20-minute event because she does word salads, and she couldn’t hold court like that without a teleprompter. We all know that. These are the facts, the American people see it, and the media can pick it apart, but people are going to vote. They‘re going to vote what’s best for their family, and they see that in Trump.”
Johnson also defended Trump’s recent remarks about potentially deploying the military to defend the nation from what Trump described as “radical left lunatics.” Johnson clarified that he “did not hear” Trump advocating for using the military against political opponents, stating that the comments were taken out of context.
He further argued that Trump has faced “baseless” political attacks since his first presidential campaign in 2015, which have caused significant damage to the American psyche. Johnson contrasted this with criticisms from Vice President Kamala Harris and others who have labeled Trump as “dangerous” to the United States.
“Trump is talking about restoring law and order and I‘m telling you, you can mock it, people in the media can mock it, but that resonates with the American people,” Johnson said. “They are sick of being afraid on the streets of their cities.”
Trump has defended his rhetoric, particularly in a recent Fox News interview, where he claimed that his political opponents have “weaponized the government” against him. Additionally, Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia suggested that Trump’s remarks were actually aimed at illegal immigrants and human traffickers, rather than political opponents.
