House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) and former President Donald Trump (R) Photo: C-SPAN screenshot
President Donald Trump (R) helped defend Christian Nationalist Speaker Mike Johnson (R) from far-right House members threatening to kick him out by appearing in a joint press conference in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Together, they proposed a bill to ban non-citizens from voting — something that’s already banned by federal law.
At the conference, Trump repeated his baseless claim about non-citizen immigrants voting in national elections. He made similar claims, without proof, in 2016 and 2020. Right-wingers have repeated his claim as evidence of a shadowy Democrat plot to “steal” elections. However, a study of the 2016 election found just 30 incidents of non-citizens managing to vote nationwide.
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Federal law says that non-citizens who illegally vote can face fines, up to a year in prison, and deportation. No state allows non-citizens to cast ballots in state-level elections.
Rather, the actual reason for the joint press conference became apparent later on when Trump expressed his support for Johnson, seemingly as a way to help the Speaker face down a threat to oust him from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
At the press conference, Trump said, “I think [Johnson is] doing a very good job. He’s doing about as good as you’re going to do, and I’m sure that Marjorie understands that. She’s a very good friend of mine, and I know she has a lot of respect for the Speaker.”
But Trump’s joint appearance may be a signal for Greene to back off from her threat. Johnson has Trump’s support, and since Greene is so vocally supportive of Trump, if she goes against his endorsement and tries to kick Johnson out, she risks angering Trump and his Republican voter base.
“We’re getting along very well with the Speaker, and I get along very well with Marjorie,” Trump said at the conference. “We have a Speaker who was voted in, and it was a complicated process… it’s not an easy situation for any Speaker.”
In late 2023, Republican House members adopted a rule that allows them to easily oust their speaker if just one House member wants to. The rule was used to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in late 2023 after he worked with Democrats to pass a budget bill, something Johnson is now accused of doing. It’s unclear who Republicans might choose as Johnson’s replacement, seeing as Johnson was literally the fifth choice for Speaker.
