970x125
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Sunday said the “No Kings” protests against President Trump this weekend were a “stunt” created by Democrats because they needed “cover” amid the ongoing government shutdown.
In an interview on ABC News’s “This Week,” Johnson suggested there was no need for Trump’s critics to join No Kings demonstrations this weekend, saying the very fact that the protests took place is proof that they were not necessary.
“The irony of the message is pretty clear for everyone. If President Trump was a king, the government would be open right now. If President Trump was a king, they would not have been able to engage in that free speech exercise out on the [National] Mall, by the way, which was open because President Trump hasn’t closed it,” the Speaker said.
“They needed a stunt. They needed a show. Chuck Schumer … needs cover right now. He’s closed the government down because he needs political cover, and this was a part of it,” he added, referring to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Millions of Americans protested the president and his administration on Saturday at roughly 2,600 demonstrations that took place in all 50 states, in small towns and major cities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Many Democratic lawmakers, including Schumer and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, joined the activists, while Republicans largely backed Trump and criticized the demonstrations.
The protests came after nearly three weeks of a shutdown, with no sign of a deal in the works to reopen the government. Democrats have insisted that the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year, be extended before they agree to support the GOP plan to reopen the government.
“We congratulate them on an apparently violent-free, free speech exercise. I was a First Amendment lawyer for 20 years. We defend that right,” Johnson said.
