House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back Sunday on the widespread “no kings” protests that took place across the United States a day earlier, saying that President Donald Trump was far from the authoritarian “king” Democrats were claiming that he was.
Johnson joined host Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week” to discuss a wide range of topics, from the ongoing government shutdown to the protests — some of which were attended by high-profile elected Democrats — and he argued that if Trump were behaving like a king, the government shutdown would not still be in effect.
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“Let’s start with the ‘no kings’ rallies,” Karl jumped right in after introducing Johnson. “You called these ‘Hate America rallies,’ what do you mean by that?”
“Well, that collection of folks that I listed were certainly part of it. We congratulate them on an apparently violent free speech exercise. I was a First Amendment lawyer for 20 years, we defend that right — but the irony of the message is pretty clear for everyone. If President Trump was a king, the government would be open right now. If President Trump was a king, they would not have been able to engage in that free speech exercise out on the mall, by the way, which was open because President Trump hasn’t closed it,” Johnson replied, taking aim at former President Barack Obama, who did close outdoor monuments when the government shut down under his leadership.
“In the last shutdown, 2013-era, President Obama closed the National Mall,” he said. “He closed all the national parks, didn’t allow people to engage in all this.”
“So it’s — they needed a stunt, they needed a show. Chuck Schumer has — needs cover right now, he’s closed the government down because he needs political cover and this was part of it,” Johnson concluded,
Schumer faced backlash from within his own party during the last shutdown battle, largely because he voted with Republicans and said that it was more important to keep the government open than to score a few political points.
