'I refuse to put people over politics': Speaker Johnson fundraises with apparent typo
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) appeared to get his words mixed up in one of his first fundraising emails since taking the top House job last week.
Johnson capped a standard fundraising message Friday with a new turn on a familiar phrase: “I refuse to put people over politics.”
That apparent mix-up garnered jeers from House Democrats and their allies, eager to go after the new leader.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) took an indirect shot at Johnson just after the email made the rounds online Friday afternoon.
“House Democrats will continue to put people over politics,” Jeffries said on X, formerly Twitter. “Why is that an issue for our Republican colleagues?”
Gun control advocacy group Giffords, founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), also piled on, hitting Johnson for his record on gun control legislation.
“Mike Johnson says the quiet part out loud: ‘I refuse to put people over politics,” the group said on X. “For politicians bought by gun lobbyists, the people are never top priority.”
Johnson's office referred questions on the email to his campaign team, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“We’re in the majority right now,” he had said in a news conference following his swearing-in as Speaker. “We’ve gone through a little bit of character building, and you know what it’s produced: more strength, more perseverance, and a lot of hope.”
“And that’s what we’re about to deliver to the American people,” he added.
Democrats launched an all-out blitz on Johnson after he was elected Speaker last week, with an advertising campaign targeting his views on abortion and LGBTQ rights.
“Democrats don’t know a thing about me,” read the email with the typo in it. “All I want to do is make our country safer, secure our border, bring down costs, restore law and order, and ensure America remains the freest, most powerful country in the world.”
Considered mild-mannered and likable among his GOP colleagues, Democrats have blasted Johnson over his political views, which they have often compared to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the controversial Speaker candidate who fell short before the Louisiana Republican eventually secured the gavel.
“Johnson is like Jordan with a bar card,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). “He’s an anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-gun safety, pro-Trump extremist.”
“He’s a MAGA extremist,” Raskin continued. “He [just] has better manners.”