‘Stunning Piece Of Gaslighting’: Critics Dunk On Mike Johnson’s Wild New Trump Defense
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is getting called out on social media after he defended Monday’s Supreme Court decision in favor of Donald Trump, which grants immunity to presidents for “official” acts committed while in office.
The decision placed presidents above the law in many instances, and critics feared it would open up the door to criminal activity in the White House, but Johnson dismissed that as “hyperbole” during a Fox News interview.
“Remember this: The president and the vice president are the only two offices in our constitutional system that are elected by all the people,” he said. “No one who is elected to that office is going to be prone to this kind of crazy criminal activity.”
Critics were quick to point out that “crazy criminal activity” is exactly what Trump has been accused of ― and in one case, already convicted of, as he was found guilty in the Stormy Daniels hush money trial.
They fired back on X:
No one except the twice impeached convicted felon who incited a violent insurrection to seize power. https://t.co/EroTyGWY7N
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) July 2, 2024
I really don’t think he understands what he’s saying here. I really don’t. https://t.co/XU3rXU59KW
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) July 2, 2024
This is a stunning piece of gaslighting. The reason the Court issued its decision was because the former president committed criminal acts that he’s now been given a free pass for. No other president has needed to claim immunity for criminal activity while in office. https://t.co/tEFjqWIRoN
— wonk_arama (@wonk_arama) July 2, 2024
Crazy Criminal Activity is Donald Trump's main hobby https://t.co/lhw89wHIdt
— Connor Ratliff 🎭 (@connorratliff) July 2, 2024
Oy.
1. No
2. There goes your whole “Biden crime family” thing. https://t.co/Mb4eMjbMUA— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) July 2, 2024
I’m again going to have to remind Speaker Johnson that lying is a sin. https://t.co/4pYbtnPEy0
— Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) July 2, 2024
I’m so fucking tired of the @GOP gaslighting. We already know that a certain President will engage in “crazy criminal activity” because we literally watched it happen when Trump was president. He tried to overthrow the 2020 election for crying out loud. I can’t wait until Dems…
— Tonya Bailey (@tbailey1976) July 2, 2024
Counterpoint: Our 45th Prez had a crowd try to kill his VP, was convicted by a jury of 34 felonies, had two other juries find him liable for sexual assault and decades of fraud, and is still facing 54 other felony counts. And suggested executing WH staff for leaks.🙄 https://t.co/Y67n3KDxB5
— Dean Gloster (@deangloster) July 2, 2024
Mike Johnson is intentionally gaslighting us.
— David Dodson 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 (@davaldod) July 2, 2024
The president and VP are not elected by all the people. They're elected by electors in a system that gives much greater weight to small states. If the president and VP were elected by all the people, there would have been one GOP president in the last 30 years. https://t.co/2MjKr76dFq
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) July 2, 2024
"No one who is elected to that office is going to be prone to this kind of crazy criminal activity." https://t.co/q8kD6qW2TZpic.twitter.com/AhKDlvhHQR
— SFDB (@sfdb) July 2, 2024
Who wants to tell him https://t.co/K6S0T86jbb
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) July 2, 2024
Really, @MikeJohnson? https://t.co/LRzrVLi5d3pic.twitter.com/fPdtvUSKdb
— Mary Littleton (@MaryLittleton) July 2, 2024
Actually, the #POTUS and #VPOTUS are elected by the electoral college and not all the people.
If we followed the popular vote we would have had a different outcome in 2000 and 2016. https://t.co/iAbH35au2v— Krutika Kuppalli, MD FIDSA (@KrutikaKuppalli) July 2, 2024
Check out the coy smile as he says this: https://t.co/5ziAwXSt0Wpic.twitter.com/NabUepGU6i
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 2, 2024
This is not going to age well. https://t.co/OpbCPOAJZO
— The Cathy Wilcox (@cathywilcox1) July 2, 2024