The Republican Party may potentially bring legal challenges against attempts to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s nominee, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson. “These elections are handled at the state level,” the Louisiana Republican said on ABC News’ “This Week.” “Every state has its own system, and in some of these, it’s not possible to simply just switch out a candidate who has been chosen through the democratic, small D, democratic process.”
Johnson added that it would be “wrong and I think unlawful in accordance” with some state rules “for a handful of people to go in the back room and switch it out because they don’t like the candidate any longer. That’s not how this is supposed to work.” However, regardless of the outcome, “the Democrats are in total disarray and I know the Republican Party is united like never before,” he said.
Johnson also disagreed with polls indicating that Biden and Republican nominee Donald Trump are in a dead heat, claiming that the former president “may be headed for a landslide.” “Don’t take my word for it,” he said. “Take the word of some of the top leading Democrats and elected Democrats around the country who are in panic mode. That’s the headlines that we’ve been reading for weeks and I think that’s true.”
He added that his Democrat colleagues in the House are doing “lots of handwringing” over the Biden situation, as “they don’t have a viable plan B,” and don’t think Vice President Kamala Harris is a viable candidate. However, it won’t matter if Harris is the nominee, said Johnson, as she “owns all these policy failures” of the Biden administration.
Still, the election will hinge on policies, not personalities, said Johnson, rejecting the program’s argument that Trump attacked Harris personally in his rally speech Saturday night. “He has a lot to say because he has a lot of ideas,” said Johnson.
He added that Trump’s claims to be able to end the war in Ukraine in one day have some merit. “President Trump has the ability to pick up the phone call and make threats and demands of adversaries around the world that they pay attention to because they fear him in some ways,” said Johnson. “There’s real value in that.”
Johnson also discussed last weekend’s assassination attempt against Trump and told ABC News that he had called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign. When she wouldn’t, he called on Biden to fire her. “The buck should stop at his desk,” he said. “We absolutely must ensure accountability so the American people can trust that this job will be done, that we will protect our presidents and former presidents. It’s the number one job of the Secret Service. Not anything else.”
