I know. You know. But U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson does not know. We thought he should know; it certainly seems like he should. But Mike Johnson often claims to not know what the heck is going on.
“I don’t know about the details about that; I just read it,” he shrugged when asked about the former president’s claim that the Justice Department owed him $230 million dollars.
“I don’t know; I’ve never seen the Epstein evidence. It wasn’t in my lane.”
“I don’t know anything about the meme coin thing.”
“I haven’t seen it—I’ve been a little busy today,” he said when asked about reports tying Trump-world names to Jeffrey Epstein’s social circle.
One might ask if the Speaker of the House reads a newspaper, attends a briefing, gets staff alerts, or has a Wi-Fi connection.
Come on, Mike. The world is still going on around you. It might be good if you took an interest in it because your constituents do. Why don’t you? Or could it be that you are dodging questions that you prefer not to answer?
Surely it can’t be that, not from a man who proudly proclaimed, when taking the Speaker job, “If you want to know what I think, pick up a Bible and read it; that’s my worldview.” Certainly, that man would be a straight shooter, a man with a view of the world that comes with honesty, clarity, and accountability.
Yet, when the White House accepted a luxury Boeing 747-8 from Qatar for use as Air Force One, and eventually for the Trump Presidential library, some members of Congress offered criticism before their responses turned to shrugs – like always.
But Johnson? He had been busy with other matters and didn’t know about the transaction.
Mike Johnson would have us believe that he doesn’t really follow the news; doesn’t keep up with events in Washington, D.C.; and apparently seldom listens to Donald Trump.
The Speaker of the House seems to be missing a lot of current events.
This week, Johnson told reporters he hadn’t seen Trump’s Sunday night 60 Minutes interview, which must be a blow to the President, who openly seeks ratings. When asked about the president’s response to a question about his recent pardon of crypto mogul Changpeng “CZ” Zhao (Trump said he didn’t know the guy he pardoned), Johnson confirmed that he “know[s] nothing about it.”
Johnson is very busy. It might make sense that he’d miss an occasional newscast or speech, but does he miss them all? And, since he’s kept his colleagues on the bench for the past month+, it seems like he’d have even more time to keep up with news. NOTE: Critics allege that he has maintained the long House recess to stall a discharge petition on the Epstein files.
In September, Johnson said he did not watch the Trump address to generals and admirals at Quantico, Virginia, where Trump labeled his opponents as the “enemy from within” and floated the idea of using U.S. cities as military training grounds.
The Daily Show had a take on Johnson’s shocking lack of knowledge and compiled a montage of Johnson’s astonishingly unknowing assertions on a variety of controversial subjects.
What news did Johnson notice lately? As protests in Portland, OR grew, in response to the deployment of federal troops to that city last month, Mike Johnson, second in line of succession to the presidency, claimed on October 14 that “the naked bicyclers in Portland” were “the most threatening thing I’ve seen yet.” Really, Mike?
Open your eyes, guy. Well, not too wide when you are in Portland.
But It’s a big, newsy world out there. If you truly don’t know about it, you are unfit to serve. If you do know and refuse to answer, you are dishonest, and while that seems to no longer be a qualifier for office, it feels like it should be.
Albert Einstein said, “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”
Mr. Johnson, leadership requires you to lead and that means facing events, not avoiding them. Your constituents deserve clarity, accountability, honesty, and action. We all do.
Curt MacRae, a resident of Coldwater, MI, publishes regular opinion columns.
To be notified by email when a column is published, or to offer feedback email rantsbymac@gmail.com
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