Mike Johnson Reportedly Apologized to Biden For ‘Eye-Roll Memes’ Following State of the Union

CNN

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) became the unwitting subject of a memestorm after this year’s State of the Union address when, on several occasions, he was caught on camera rolling his eyes behind President Joe Biden. And reportedly, he felt that warranted an apology to the president.

Johnson has been the subject of a few profiles in recent days as he fights to keep his speakership amid opposition from the fringiest members of his own party. He’s also scoring points for working with Democrats — and the more level-headed Republicans — to pass the foreign aid package that will aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

But Philip Wegmann at Real Clear Politics had a surprising anecdote about Johnson related to his infamous eye-rolling in a recent story:

This past March, Johnson felt he owed Biden an apology. Seated just over the president’s shoulder during the State of the Union address, the speaker couldn’t mask his expressions of exhaustion and exasperation as Biden laid into Republicans. The two next met on Capitol Hill for the Friends of Ireland luncheon where Johnson toasted Biden as “America’s most famous Irishman.” On loan from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, his pint glass was the same one Reagan used during a 1984 visit to Ireland. The Guinness the Southern Baptist speaker drank was non-alcoholic.

Johnson pulled Biden aside to “apologize for the eye-roll memes that went around the world.” The president laughed, then told the speaker he was glad Johnson was better behaved than [Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)] had been during the speeches of his predecessor: “I’m just grateful you didn’t rip my speech up.” The speaker replied, “Well, Mr. President, don’t think my friends back home didn’t want me to light it on fire.”

Wegmann wrote right before that passage that Johnson vowed: “When I go home, I want to look my kids in the eye and tell them that daddy acted like a gentleman.”