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Former President Donald Trump set liberal keys to clicking Sunday as he referred to a “little secret” between him and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Politico frothed that in the comment, Trump made “potentially more sinister comments that could be a reference to the House settling a contested election.”
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MSNBC went on to quote Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman who read conspiracy in every syllable.
“I think the secret yesterday that [Trump] referenced very likely may relate to his compact with Mike Johnson to — as a back-up plan for when he loses — to overturn this election on Jan. 6,” he said.
Will tell you our little secret after the elections pic.twitter.com/SyDQJpwBzF
— PresidentTrump4 (@FightFight45) October 28, 2024
The critical missing context for the comment, however, was that it was simply a call for Republicans to take control of Congress — not some nefarious, clandestine plot.
“You know, with me, we’ve got to get the congressmen elected,” Trump said at a rally in New York City.
“And we’ve got to get the senators elected. Because we can take the Senate pretty easily,” he said.
And then came the comment that triggered a furious bout of anti-Trump conspiracies.
“And I think with our little secret, we’re going to do really well with the House, right? Our little secret is having a big impact. He and I have a secret. We’ll tell you what it is when the race is over,” Trump said.
The comment followed Trump’s focus on Johnson.
“Speaker Mike Johnson is here and he’s doing a great job,” Trump said.
“It’s not easy when you have a majority of three. But he’s done a great job. And he’s going to continue to do a great job. And we like him. He’s a terrific person,” Trump added.
“I watched him just totally decapitate a fake reporter on NBC. Meet the press. Meet the fake press. What he did to her was, I think, probably that she’ll never be the same,” he said.
Trump then ribbed Johnson over his appearance.
“Look at him. Such a nice-looking guy. Just that little beautiful face with the glasses. Got the little glasses. Everyone says, oh, he’s so nice. He’s such a nice person. He’s not a nice person. He’s not nice at all,” Trump said, adding “But great job. We think he’s great. And he’s going to be around for a long time, I predict.”
Johnson later told Axios Trump supports him remaining as Speaker.
“I have a very close working relationship with President Trump and consider him now a close friend. I know that’s mutual, and he tells me how much confidence he has in my leadership,” Johnson said.
“I expect that he’ll be fully supportive so that will make a big difference,” Johnson said.
“I believe he’s going to be elected decisively as president, and he will be the leader of our party, and he’ll have a large voice in everything that happens in Washington, so it’ll be important,” he said.
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