House Speaker Mike Johnson told his people to play nice under the bright lights of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday night—an admonishment his crew completely ignored. Between the ridiculous costumes (a violation of House rules) and the shouting and heckling, the spectacle put on by House rowdies was far from the “professional[ism]” and “high standard of decorum” Johnson tried to impose. As if that would work.
On Friday, Johnson tried to blame the bad behavior of his underlings on Biden—they were only reacting to his “overly partisan” speech “full of information that is just objectively not true,” which made them “very emotional,” he said. He also tried to claim that his underlings did a good job. “We emphasized decorum. I think mostly that was respected tonight, and that was a good thing for the country,” he said.
Sure, Mike.
Some of his own members disagree with that assessment. The heckling was “sad and unnecessary,” one GOP lawmaker told Axios. “What the heck is going on in this place,” the lawmaker remarked. Republican Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana said there were times in the speech where he was thinking “this is awful” and wanting to heckle but held himself back because "I don't think it's appropriate." He added, “There’s some implicit respect for the president that you should have.”
Even Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee—one of the eight Freedom Caucus maniacs who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy—chided his colleagues. "I wouldn't have done it. Show respect,” he told Axios. “You’ve got to remember where you’re at—you’re in U.S. history and you’re in the United States Congress.”
Johnson seemed to have a hard time remembering that himself. Sitting behind President Biden, with the camera on him constantly, he was clearly trying to figure out what to do with his face. He seemed to be attempting to look at once dignified and critical, but more often, he came across as smarmy, smug, and amateurish. “I am afraid he may have practiced it in front of a mirror,” presidential historian Douglas Brinkley told The New York Times for their story about how forced Johnson’s silent performance was Thursday night. “He more or less succeeded at keeping Republicans under control,” the Times wrote, “but his own brows, lips and eyes were another matter.”
The grimaces, sneers, eyerolls, and headshakes were bad enough, and on display for all to see, but the real disrespect came at the end of the speech, when Johnson clearly just wanted to get out of that room. He gaveled the Congress out of session while Biden was still in the chamber, and even tapped his watch when he caught Biden’s eye. The House even started turning the lights out on Biden, like a supercilious maître d' trying to kick out the last table of happy, satisfied customers.
Seems that holding the gavel and sitting in the big chair have gone to Johnson’s head. But in the end, all of his and his colleagues’ cheap theatrics Thursday night serve only to emphasize how much Biden owned that room.
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