And Trump gave him a rhetorical embrace during a break in his trial in New York Wednesday morning.
And the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee immediately dubbed Johnson “MAGA Mike,” a reference to Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” motto, and Democrats own messaging dubbing Republicans as “ultra MAGA”
But some Republicans insisted attributing his victory to Trump was too simple and said there were other reasons the low-profile Johnson ultimately beat out 13 other candidates from among the House Republican conference.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) called the idea that Johnson’s election showed Republicans were rubber stamps for Trump “nonsense.”
“The reality is that Mike was the guy who could unite both your hard right of the conference, like me, and say, for example, the New York delegation that represents blue districts,” he said.
Trump’s impact on the speaker fight was limited, with his backing doing little to aid either McCarthy or Rep. Jim Jordan (r-Ohio), two close allies. Notably, Trump did not endorse Johnson until Wednesday morning, when it appeared more likely he would win.
And his criticism of Emmer came at about the same time the majority whip was walking into a House GOP meeting to say he was withdrawing, well after it was apparent he would lose.
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), who had spoken favorably for Emmer, the speaker-designate before Johnson, called Johnson “a smart, hardworking and decent man.”
Dusty Johnson said when he arrived in Congress two years after the now-speaker visited his office to ask him to join the civility caucus, a bipartisan group trying to improve relations between lawmakers.
“That just shows you where his heart is,” Dusty Johnson said.
Of course, Trump backers say Johnson’s election does indeed show the power of Trump.
“The swamp is on the run. MAGA is ascendant,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on a right-wing radio talk show.