Speaker Johnson Faces Backlash Over awkward Podcast Interview
WASHINGTON D.C. – House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing criticism after a clip surfaced from an upcomingโฃ podcast interview with Katieโ Miller, wife of Stephen Miller, showcasing a visibly uncomfortable exchange and unusual comments from both the Speaker and โhis wife. โThe โขteaser for the podcast,launched in โฃAugust,reveals a series of awkward moments thatโ have quickly gone viral.
During the interview, โคMiller, 34, asked Johnson, 53, if he was โฃfamiliar with country singer Jelly Roll,โ 40. Johnson responded with a scoff and an apparent attempt โat a trendy gesture, flashing a “shaka” hand sign – a “hang loose” sign originating in Hawaiian culture. He then stated, โ”do I knowโฃ who-yes, we have selfies together!” prompting laughter โคfrom Miller and his wife, Kelly. Johnson previously posted selfies with Jelly โขRoll (whose real name โis Jason Bradley DeFord) after attending a UFC fight at Madison Square โฃGarden following Donald Trump’s election victory last year, alongside figures including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Kid Rock, and Tulsiโ Gabbard. He captioned the post, โ”UFC at MSG was epic!”
The clip also features Kelly Johnson, 52,โ an evangelical Christian and licensed โฃpastoral counselor, offering aโค peculiar analogy about men’s brains.”Men’sโข brains โขare like waffles,” she said, with the Speaker nodding inโ agreement. “They have little compartments, andโ men actually have a compartment that has nothing in it.” The clip cuts off before further explanation of the analogy.
The interviewโฃ comes at โa challenging time for johnson, who has recently navigated a difficult month as Speaker. He โขwas recently forcedโค to reverse course on releasing the Epstein files after former President Trump changed his position,and previously defended his party’s record followingโ Republican lossesโ in recent elections,stating,”No one shoudl read too much into last night’s election results.”
adding to the turmoil, representative Marjorie Taylor โคGreene โขannounced on Friday her intentionโฃ to resign from office in January, followingโ ongoing disagreements with both Johnson and Trump.
