Standing — literally and figuratively — with embattled Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), former President Donald Trump threw his most vocal congressional loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) under the bus on Friday. Or so surmised Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who taunted the MAGA Georgia lawmaker, asking Greene on social media: “did you just get rolled big time?”
Greene has been unequivocal in her criticism of Johnson, against whom she filed a motion to vacate and then further excoriated for his plan to support U.S. aid to Ukraine. With Trump publicly pledging his support for Johnson — and saying Greene supported him too — Greene is left with little room to stand between her principles yesterday and Trump’s description of her position.
Wow. Did you just hear Trump, Marjorie? He is fully standing with @SpeakerJohnson. He says you are, too? What!! So is all of this performative…you know, like WWE? Or did you just get rolled big time? I’ll wait. https://t.co/nwqJvaXDUy
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) April 12, 2024
Saying “I stand with the Speaker,” Trump even called Greene’s motion to vacate “unfortunate.”
One thing Trump said that both Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on is the second part of this assessment. “I think he’s doing a very good job, he’s doing about as good as you’re going to do,” Trump said.
Democrats have made the same claim — essentially that the Republican conference is ungovernable (Greene v. Johnson being a prime example) and that Johnson is doing as well as possible. And many Republicans agree, with Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) saying: “It’s an impossible job. The Lord Jesus himself could not manage this conference. You just can’t do it.”
GOP pushback on MTG effort to oust Johnson.
“It’s an impossible job. The lord Jesus himself could not manage this conference. You just can’t do it,” Nehls said pic.twitter.com/f1FnKUvKsT
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 10, 2024
Swalwell may be seeking to exacerbate what’s already a divisive relationship — at least publicly — between Greene and Johnson. But the California Congressman isn’t siding with Johnson in the spat either. Instead Swalwell contends that Johnson is Greene’s equal so far in helping forward Vladimir Putin’s aims in Ukraine, despite majority congressional support for Ukraine aid.
Swalwell says of Johnson that “standing with Trump as it relates to Ukraine means standing with Putin, and standing with Trump as it relates to the border means standing with chaos and disorder. That’s just where he takes you.”
Swalwell on CNN on Mike Johnson: “Standing with Trump when it comes to national security means standing with terrorists… standing w/Trump as it relates to Ukraine means standing with Putin, & standing with Trump as it relates to the border means standing with chaos & disorder” pic.twitter.com/HUQe6ab8FV
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 11, 2024