Newt Gingrich Offers Mike Johnson Advice Amid Ousting Threat: ‘You Can’t Govern By Shooting Yourself in the Head Every Day’
(Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Newt Gingrich offered some advice to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on how to deal with the “narcissists” in his party amid threats of an ousting.
Speaking with Politico, Gingrich said he’s in regular contact with Johnson’s team and admires the Republican leader for dealing with certain members of his conference. Johnson is currently trying to push foreign aid packages through the House, but has faced backlash and a potential motion to vacate over Ukraine funding.
“He has the narrowest majority in modern times, and it’s not a true majority, because he’s got six or eight narcissists — people who think that they individually get to screw up everything,” Gringrich, a former Republican House Speaker, said.
Asked to name names, Gingrich threw out Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). The congressman reportedly had a heated exchange on Thursday when debating a group that included Johnson and a colleague called him “tubby.” Gingrich called the Florida representative “the super narcissist.”
“I think they self-define. I’d start with [Matt] Gaetz, but I would say the list goes on. He’s the super narcissist,” he said.
The former Republican leader called a potential motion to vacate “totally stupid.” He also admitted even he would struggle to lead House Republicans today because they can so easily run to media outlets and social media.
“You can’t keep them in line, because the technology’s changed,” he said. “They have the ability to make noise, they have the ability to go on television, and they have an ability to use the internet to raise money from [people] who only know who they are because they saw them on television, so what do they care?”
Johnson has dismissed concerns about efforts to oust him, calling a motion to vacate “absurd.”
“It is in my view an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion when we are here simply trying to do our jobs,” he said. “It is not helpful to the cause, it is not helpful to the country, it does not help the House Republicans advance our agenda, which is in the best interest of the American people.”
