President-elect Donald Trump gave his “complete” and “total” endorsement of Mike Johnson ahead of next month’s expected fight to hold onto the House speakership.
“The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. “He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!”
Trump, championing the GOP as “the Party of COMMON SENSE,” also included a warning to Republicans.
“We ran a flawless campaign, having spent FAR LESS, with lots of money left over. They ran a very expensive ‘sinking ship,’ embracing DOJ & FBI WEAPONIZATION against their political opponent, ME. BUT IT DIDN’T WORK, IT WAS A DISASTER!!!” Trump wrote, adding: “LETS NOT BLOW THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHICH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN.”
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Deeming his win as the culmination of a “magnificent and historic Presidential Election of 2024,” Trump reiterated how he and Vice President-elect JD Vance picked up seven swing states, 317 electoral college votes and the popular vote by millions of voters. Trump also decried how it took several weeks after Election Day before the state of California certified its results.
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After last week’s government funding fight, Fox News projected that anywhere from four to 10 Republicans could oppose Johnson in the speaker’s race slated for Jan. 3.
Congress balked at a staggering, 1,500-page spending bill, then defeated a narrow, 116-page bill – which Trump endorsed. Things got worse when the House only mustered a scant 174 yeas for the Trump-supported bill, with 38 Republicans voting nay. Circumstances grew even more dire when the House actually voted to avert a holiday government shutdown – but passed the bill with more Democrats (196) than Republicans (170). Thirty-four Republicans voted nay.
Republican Party divisions reared their head over the past week on another issue – immigration, as Trump’s DOGE co-leaders Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk advocated for H1-B visas to hire foreign specialized workers.
Though Trump saw a decisive victory in November, Republicans hold the majority in the House by only five seats.
Trump’s post Monday also repeated allegations that Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign shelled out millions of dollars for celebrity endorsements.
“Republicans are being praised for having run a ‘legendary’ campaign! Democrats are being excoriated for their effort, having wasted 2.5 Billion Dollars, much of it unaccounted for, with some being used to illegally buy endorsements,” he wrote.
“($11,000,000 to Beyoncé, who never even sang a song, $2,000,000 to Oprah for doing next to nothing, and even $500,000 to Reverend AL, a professional con man and instigator, who agreed to ‘interview’ their ‘star spangled’ candidates, Kamala and Joe),” Trump added.
Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, took to Instagram in November to deny reports that her daughter accepted upward of $10 million to endorse Harris at a Texas rally.
“The lie is that Beyonce was paid 10 million dollars to speak at a rally in Houston for Vice President Kamala Harris. When In Fact: Beyonce did not receive a penny for speaking at a Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harrris’s Rally in Houston,” Tina Knowles wrote at the time.
Campaign finance records confirm that the Harris campaign paid Oprah Winfrey’s production company, Harpo Productions, $1 million.
Harris sat down for a friendly interview on Oct. 20 with MSNBC host Al Sharpton, an open supporter of Harris and the Democratic Party. Following Harris’ defeat by Trump, FEC filings revealed the Harris campaign gave two $250,000 donations to Sharpton’s nonprofit organization in September and October. MSNBC later said it was “unaware” that Harris’ presidential campaign paid $500,000 to Sharpton’s National Action Network.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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