‘I absolutely love Marjorie Taylor Greene’, Trump responds to failed bid to oust speaker Mike Johnson.
The former president praised Greene’s ‘spirit’ and ‘fight’ in the statement calling for GOP unity
Former President Donald Trump issued a statement soon after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted against a campaign to kick Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) out of the speaker’s office.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed the motion to vacate after a speech in which she accused Johnson of failing to defund the Department of Justice in order to stop its lawsuits against Trump.
The former president praised Greene even as he said that Republicans needed to be unified in his post on Truth Social.
“I absolutely love Marjorie Taylor Greene. She’s got Spirit, she’s got Fight, and I believe she’ll be around, and on our side, for a long time to come,” wrote Trump.
“Mike Johnson is a good man who is trying very hard.”
“However, right now, Republicans have to be fighting the Radical Left Democrats, and all the Damage they have done to our Country,” he added. “With a Majority of One, shortly growing to three or four, we’re not in a position of voting on a Motion to Vacate. At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time.”
He wrote that he was leading in presidential polls and predicted that Republicans would win in the Senate as well as the House.
“But if we show DISUNITY, which will be portrayed as CHAOS, it will negatively affect everything!” Trump said. “Mike Johnson is a good man who is trying very hard. I also wish certain things were done over the last period of two months, but we will get them done, together.”
He went on to request Republicans vote to table the motion.
Greene had previously said that she was upset that Johnson had not ended funding that went to Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion. Only 11 Republicans voted to support the motion.
Johnson had defended himself by responding, “I’m the most conservative member who has ever held the gavel as speaker, but the reality of our numbers is our challenge.”
A failing act of political theater.”
Angry Republicans excoriated the effort in an impromptu media briefing outside the Capitol Building. Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota especially derided the motion.
“We know this motion is not going to do one thing to make America stronger, it’s not gonna do one thing to deliver a conservative victory. It’s going to sow discord and dissent, and by the way, it’s going to fail. She is engaged in a failing act of political theater,” said Johnson to reporters.
“What you have here is some of the mainstream members who are the adults, and we’re gonna do what adults do,” he added. “We’re going to ignore the tantrums and instead work to actually govern this country.”
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was an avid supporter of the motion to remove Johnson, and he issued a bitter critique of the political situation after the vote.
“Vacating Kevin McCarthy was a huge mistake. Every Democrat voted to vacate him because he fought them tooth and nail,” Massey said on social media.
“Keeping Mike Johnson is an even bigger mistake,” he added. “An overwhelming majority of democrats voted to keep him because he’s given them everything they want.”
Johnson replaced Kevin McCarthy in October after a campaign that accused the former speaker of being weak and not supportive of Trump enough. Greene had praised the ascension of Johnson and took a selfie with him after the vote was successful.
“I just voted for Mike Johnson to be our next Speaker of the House! Mike has a conservative voting record and has committed to helping me move important legislation forward,” she posted at the time.
After the vote on Wednesday, she accused him of being the leader of the “uniparty,” including Democrats.
“Tonight, you saw the Uniparty in action. Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries, and the rest of the Democrats saved Mike Johnson,” she said in a pair of messages on social media.
Trump finished his post on Wednesday promising that Republicans would win big and soon.