On his first full day on the job, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., makes a statement to reporters about the mass shooting in Maine, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. He did not respond to questions. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
  • Folksy champion of the religious right
  • Election denier
  • Staunch conservative
  • Raging homophobe

These are some of the recent headlines describing Republican Mike Johnson, the newly elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Another one to add to the list should be obstructionist because of his refusal to answer reporters’ questions about his role as an architect of the effort to overturn the 2020 election.

The good news — so far — is that reporters seem determined to press Johnson on this issue as well as many of his other extremist views. They must persist in the search for answers and not move on to the next story at the expense of this one. He is, after all, second in the line of succession for the presidency and will play a major role in certifying the 2024 presidential election.

As I earlier wrote for Heartland Signal, the media failed miserably covering earlier House Speaker candidate Jim Jordan by all but ignoring his leadership role in undermining the 2020 election. But by the time the GOP speaker clown show settled on Johnson as its standard bearer, much of the DC media was busy reporting on the special role Johnson played in efforts to overturn the election. The big change may be because Johnson is a relative unknown and his election as speaker a complete surprise. It may also be that the media listened to the mountains of criticism about the Jordan coverage. Whatever the reason, it’s a welcome change.

Where Jordan’s election denier status — if mentioned at all — was mostly buried at the end of news stories, but Mike Johnson’s involvement was headline news:

Speaker Johnson’s election denier history

Here’s a reminder of what “MAGA Mike” Johnson did to help the Trump coup plot:

“After the election, he voiced support for Trump’s conspiracy theory that voting machines were rigged. Later, he was one of 147 Republicans to object to results in key states, even after a pro-Trump mob attacked Congress on January 6, a riot now linked to nine deaths and hundreds of convictions.

Johnson also authored an amicus brief filed at the supreme court in a case in which Texas sought to have swing-state results thrown out. According to the New York Times, a House Republican lawyer said Johnson’s brief was unconstitutional. Nonetheless, he persuaded 125 colleagues to sign it, using tactics some thought heavy handed.”

Johnson even bragged about helping Trump in this post from Dec. 2020 on social media:

“Proud to lead over 100 of my colleagues in filing an amicus brief to express our concern with the integrity of the 2020 election–& our election system in the future. We believe this suit filed by Texas, supported by 17 other states, merits full & careful consideration by SCOTUS.”

The “surprise” speaker stonewalls the media

Johnson shut down any discussion of his role in the 2020 election coup and how aggressively he promoted the “rigged” voting machine lies. In his very first public appearance as the party nominee, Johnson refused to answer when Rachel Scott of ABC News asked if he stood by his earlier efforts to undermine the election. Then the Republicans all around him booed the question.

It was a fair question. It was an important question. Shame on Johnson for refusing to answer it. Shame on Republicans for acting like thugs and bullies.

The stonewalling and obstruction continue now that he’s the speaker. Johnson still refuses to answer reporters’ questions about the 2020 election. Ali Vitali of NBC News says she “tried to shout several questions at the newly minted Speaker Johnson, specifically around the 2020 election and his efforts to overturn it. Johnson, once again, didn’t take q’s from the press.”

And here’s the new Speaker ignoring and running away from CBS News:

So far, Johnson has just done one media interview. It was with Fox, and it was a doozy. But surprise, surprise, the 2020 election never came up. Maybe that’s because the lies Johnson spread about the Dominion voting systems were the very same lies that cost Fox $787 million.

Refusing to speak about efforts to overturn the election should not be confused with repudiating those efforts. He’s been given the chance to talk about his past efforts to disenfranchise millions of Americans. He won’t take it. He remains an election denier — to this day, a man unwilling to accept the results of elections he doesn’t like, and now with the power to overturn them.

The potential impact on 2024

As speaker, Johnson will not directly oversee the counting of the 2024 electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2025. (Yes, the joint session of Congress is on Jan. 6… again.) That job will fall to the current vice president, Kamala Harris. But Johnson might still be able to muck things up.

As former Republican operative Tim Miller points out, Johnson was called “the most important architect of the Electoral College objections” in the House. A Trump as nominee and Johnson as Speaker combo would make the GOP all-in on a Trump autocracy heading into 2024.”  Presidential Historian Michael Bechloss noted, “If serving as House Speaker during another insurrection attack against Congress and U.S. Capitol, Mike Johnson would have the job of ensuring the physical security and protection of all members of House of Representatives”

Fortunately, much of the media seems to be paying attention to this critical issue. At least right now.

PBS NewsHour reported:

“Joanna Lydgate, chief executive officer of States United Democracy Center, a nonpartisan group organizing against election deniers, said Johnson’s ascension was alarming: “How can you run the people’s House if you don’t believe in the will of the people?”

Noting the speaker’s role in “the peaceful transfer of power” between presidential administrations, Lydgate warned, “When those in power don’t take our democracy and the will of the people seriously, it can have dire consequences.”

The New York Times has a good look at the news safeguards that are in place since 2020 but the coverage also points out some possible nightmare scenarios that could involve Speaker Johnson:

“…Mr. Johnson could use the power of his bully pulpit and his status as a party leader to organize Republican lawsuits or pressure state boards of elections to throw out legitimate votes. He could attempt to refuse to seat new Democratic members of the House.

“His main power would be as party leader,” said Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, who served on the House Jan. 6 committee.

Mr. Johnson also could demand that Republicans in Congress vote as a bloc on Jan. 6, 2025, against certifying election results. But he would need 20 percent of both chambers to agree to object, and then a majority of both chambers to vote to sustain the objection.

Should that occur, the presidential election could fall to a contingent election of the House, in which state delegations would decide who became the next president. Such a scenario — in which the House selected a president who had lost at the ballot box — would almost certainly end up in the courts.”

Of course, it’s not just Johnson’s election denier status that demands smart media coverage.  The press needs to look past Johnson’s so called “nice guy” vibe and dig deep into his wildly radical Christian nationalist ideas including his claim that mass shootings are because of no fault divorce laws; embrace of the Great Replacement Theory; strident anti-LGBTQ positions; belief that the U.S. is not a democracy but a biblical republic; opposition to contraception; support of a national abortion ban and jail time for doctors who perform abortions; etc.

Politico has an important interview with historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez that helps explain Johnson’s radical views and Christian nationalism: “His commitment is not to democracy. He’s not committed to majority rule; he seems to be saying he’s committed to minority rule, if that’s what it takes to ensure that we stay on the Christian foundation that the founders have set up.”

Keep asking questions of Speaker Johnson

Above all, it’s critical that the news media keep exploring Johnson’s extremist ideas and never stop asking key questions. When Johnson and his supporters yell “next question” or do other things to shut down legitimate inquiry, the DC media must push back. When the GOP chooses a House speaker that believes elections should be overturned when the GOP loses, the public deserves continued vigilance from the press to make sure his views do not become the nation’s practice. Our democracy depends on it.

Jennifer Schulze is a former Chicago journalist who talks media every month on WCPT 820AM on “Live, Local & Progressive with Joan Esposito” with former Chicago Tribune editor Mark Jacob. You can follow her on Twitter/X @NewsJennifer or Threads @jenniferschulzechi.