Speaker Johnson Explains His Relationship with Trump: No Scandal involved
The ‘little secret’ comment has sparked speculation among Democrats.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) clarified that his “little secret” with former President Donald Trump is about mobilizing voters to support Republican candidates, and there is nothing scandalous about it.
The buzz started when Trump, at a rally at Madison Square Garden, mentioned that he and Johnson shared a “little secret” that he would reveal after the election. Trump, now a three-time Republican presidential candidate, hinted that this “secret” could have a significant impact on whether Republicans can maintain a House majority.
This comment raised suspicions among Democrats, with some suggesting that it might involve a plan for Johnson to challenge the election results if Trump loses next week.
Johnson dismissed the speculation as media-driven paranoia.
“It’s nothing scandalous, but we’re having fun with this,” Johnson told the crowd at an Oct. 28 rally in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he was supporting state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s congressional campaign. “The media— their heads are spinning: ‘What is the secret?’”
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“He really does refer to it as our secret,” Johnson added, speaking about Trump. “It’s not sinister. It’s actually quite beneficial. It will help us with voter turnout.”
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Johnson confirmed that the “secret” revolves around the Republican Party’s voter turnout strategy.
“For now, we will stick with the speaker’s remarks in Pennsylvania,” the representative told The Epoch Times.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some Democrats have formulated their own theories about what Trump and Johnson might be planning.
During an interview with CNN, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) suggested that Trump held a rally in a state he is unlikely to win to motivate down-ballot Republicans to maintain a Republican majority in Congress, especially during the certification of electoral votes.
Nevertheless, Vice President Kamala Harris, in her capacity as president of the Senate, will preside over the Jan. 6, 2025, joint session of Congress to ratify the election results. Johnson, or whoever holds the speaker’s gavel that day, does not have a special role in the proceedings.
If Republicans maintain the House and Johnson remains the speaker, he could request that Congress vote as a unified front against certifying the electoral votes; however, the threshold for such a challenge has been raised since the last presidential election.
The 2022 law, led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), also restricts the grounds on which objections can be raised. The first valid objection only applies to the improper appointment of electors, while the second applies solely to electoral votes that are “irregularly given,” such as an elector voting for an ineligible candidate or voting on the wrong day.
