Johnson and Trump also announced that the House will pursue a new bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote.
Johnson even rattled off a convoluted theory in which non-citizens are threatening our elections by the “design” of President Biden—a soft version of the “great replacement theory” that has become mainstreamed at the highest levels of Republican and MAGA establishment power.
There’s no greater threat to our elections than Trump and his movement, and regardless, it’s already illegal for non-citizens to vote.
But this gesture has nothing to do with legislation: With it, Johnson publicly affirmed—with the same Mar-a-Lago shrine as backdrop that McCarthy paid homage to—that the party remains fully committed to the myth that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, here demonstrated by propping up the lie that our elections remain menaced by the same forces (fraudulent voters, many immigrants) that supposedly robbed Trump last time.
It’s worth noting why Johnson thinks this will help him.
Johnson is, at the moment, in rather desperate need of Trump’s support, because he hopes to bring military aid to Ukraine to the floor, which Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene may punish with a snap vote to oust Johnson.
Appearing with Trump could strengthen Johnson’s position, of course, but it’s notable that he saw a potent way to make common cause with Trump in renewing his commitment to falsifying January 6th. »
