Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., waits for a meeting with other lawmakers, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) trip to Taiwan earlier this month produced a rare show of support from both sides of the aisle.

While 26 senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) signed a letter declaring their support for the Pelosi’s visit and affirming her “travel is consistent with the United States’ One China policy to which we are committed,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) went the opposite way.

“This is another blunder on the part of Democrats and, and the Biden administration,” Johnson told host Ox Ochsner on KNSI’s “Ox in the Afternoon” earlier this month. “I don’t know how else to put it.”

“This has been bungled from the start,” Johnson said on “The Brian Kilmeade Show” the day Pelosi landed in Taiwan. It was clear, he claimed, that Pelosi hadn’t consulted with the State Department on her trip and her visit constituted “poking the tiger.”

While Johnson said he was “not defending China,” he repeatedly appeared to align with Beijing’s rhetoric in interviews.

“If you’re going to go to Taiwan, you have to understand you’re poking the tiger. You have to really consider is it worth poking the tiger?” Johnson said on “The Brian Kilmeade Show.”

“You need to be smart in your diplomacy. And what has happened here with the speaker and the administration has not been smart.”

His statements continue a pattern for Johnson, choosing to stand up for, instead of up against, China.

Earlier this year, Johnson joined 32 other senators in opposition to a bill that, according to the White House, spurred $50 billion in investment in domestic semiconductor manufacturing when it passed.

In February, Johnson referred to that bill as “more corporate welfare” and claimed it would fuel inflation. But a Wisconsin-based trade association said the bill would benefit the state’s 187,000 equipment manufacturing jobs, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Last year, Johnson declared he would “do what he could” to frustrate the passage of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, a bill focused on maintaining the ability of the U.S. to compete with China that even Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell voted for, Politico reported at the time.

The record continues as far back as 2011, when Johnson voted against a measure ordering the Treasury Department to impose punishing sanctions on China if the country was found to be manipulating their currency. The New York Times reported the bill passed the senate with support from 16 Republicans.

The  Times reported Pelosi was the highest level U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.

Under its One China Policy, the U.S. holds no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. But the White House, according to the State Department website, regards the island as “a leading democracy and a technological powerhouse” and a key partner in the Indo-Pacific region.

“We have a robust unofficial relationship,” the State Department says.

Despite the lack of official relations, Pelosi’s visit continued a decades-long tradition of members of congress, including previous speakers of the House traveling to Taiwan, something the GOP letter of support specifically noted.

In the run-up to Pelosi’s visit, Beijing warned their army would “never sit idly by” and that they would take counter measures to protect the “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” they felt was being infringed upon, the New York Times reported.

Shortly after Pelosi’s trip, China began conducting live fire military exercises in the Taiwan Strait.

Despite the Wisconsin senator’s disquiet, a group of five U.S. lawmakers followed up Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan with one of their own and last Sunday Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, led a visiting delegation.

Holcomb said in a statement he was “proud to be the first U.S. governor to visit Taiwan since before the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m committed to building an economy of the future with these global partners who are helping propel Indiana forward by creating tomorrow’s businesses, today.”