Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that private conversations he had with President Joe Biden about a year ago revealed that the president’s memory was failing.
“He has not been in charge for some time. And I know this by personal observation, and now the whole world knows it, and that is very concerning to me.” Johnson said on the “Honestly” podcast. interview With Bari Weiss, founder and editor of the Free Press.
Johnson acknowledged June 2024 Wall Street Journal article report It used anonymous sources who described how the chairman reacted to Biden’s status at a White House meeting in late February 2024 that involved sending military aid to Ukraine.
Johnson said a freeze on U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, reportedly part of Biden’s review of the U.S.’s status as the world’s largest exporter of natural gas, would leave European allies dependent on Russian supplies. I privately expressed my concerns to Mr. Biden on the sidelines of the meeting that this could lead to This would indirectly fund Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine and cripple some of Johnson’s multibillion-dollar LNG export projects in his home state of Louisiana.
“And he looked at me dumbfounded and said, ‘I didn’t do that,'” Johnson recalled.
“And I said, ‘Sir. Mr. President, yes, you did — that was an executive order three weeks ago. And he said, ‘I didn’t do that.’ He’s arguing with me,” Johnson continued. “I say this, ‘Sir.’ Mr. President, with all due respect, while we are here together, may I ask the secretary to print it for you–which you certainly have done?” He said, “Oh, you’re talking about natural gas!”
Johnson claimed that Biden then signed an order to conduct a study on the effects of LNG, telling the president that the policy was not just a study but was already in place in Louisiana, where the export terminal is located. It is said that Mr. Johnson recalled telling Mr. Biden that this policy was causing great damage to the economy and national security.
“I just thought, Bari, he wasn’t lying to me. He didn’t really know what he signed. And I walked away. [back] I went into that meeting with fear and disgust because I thought, “We are facing serious problems, who is running this country?” I don’t know who put the paper in front of him, but he didn’t seem to know. ” (Related: Biden and Harris staffers reveal how they manipulated ‘disinformation’ to hide Biden’s mental decline from voters)
From Inauguration Weekend in D.C. @SpeakerJohnson and @BariWeiss Let’s dig into Elon vs. Bannon, why he calls Biden the “worst president ever,” his vision for a “new golden age” led by Republicans, and his best impressions of Trump.
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— Free Press (@TheFP) January 18, 2025
Johnson said it is not First Lady Jill Biden who has been running the White House for the past year and a half, and that some of the people Biden has accepted into his administration from his presidential primary rivals have been running the White House. He suggested that he may have originated the policy he signed. They were just as dangerous. ”
Prime Minister Johnson said he supported his assessment of Biden, calling him “the worst president this country has ever had,” with “no personal animosity whatsoever.” He added that he regrets that President Biden was in the “twilight of his life.”
Reflecting on his narrow re-election as chairman on January 3, Prime Minister Johnson said the Republicans seemed more difficult than the Democrats, who had an ideology of socialism, collectivism and trade unionism. , said that this was because the Republican Party had a strong sense of independence and strong individualism. He praised the spirit of the Republican Party, but acknowledged it was a great thing “until you get one vote away and then we all have to come together.”
Although difficult, consensus needs to be fostered, but not at the expense of anyone’s principles, he added. He added that love for colleagues will foster tolerance and will not overlook their grievances and failures.
Johnson said President-elect Donald Trump supported him because of their “great relationship” over the years, dating back to 2017 when the two visited Washington. He said he disagreed with Trump on several policy issues, but that Trump understood that the disagreements were sincere and appreciated that. “Now we talk almost constantly,” he said.
At one point, Johnson did an impression of Trump to the amusement of Weiss and the audience. He also revealed that he is writing a book on conservatism.
