Speaker Johnson Caught Reading Drudge Report Headline About Stock Market Crash in Middle of Trump Speech
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
It’s hard to resist the temptation to doomscroll these days, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) proved he was no exception when a reporter caught him in the act during President Donald Trump’s speech at a recent fundraising dinner.
On Tuesday evening, Trump gave the keynote address at the annual fundraiser for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in Washington, D.C. It was yet another rough day for the markets following the president’s announcement last week of sweeping new tariffs on virtually all imports. The situation is looking so dire that even a number of Republicans and some of Trump’s staunchest defenders on Fox News have spoken out to criticize the tariffs as causing unnecessary economic harm.
In Trump’s remarks, he touted his tariffs, claimed other countries were “calling us up” and “kissing my ass,” and went on a riff about fictional cannibal Hannibal Lecter.
During the speech, Johnson was spotted by NOTUS reporter Jasmine Wright checking his phone and scrolling through the Drudge Report.
At the time, the site’s top headline was about the stock market crash.
The NOTUS report about the fundraiser noted that Trump mocked the idea that Johnson and other congressional Republicans would step in to block his tariffs:
At a fundraiser for the NRCC last night, Donald Trump wisecracked about House Republicans feeling angsty about his tariff plans.
“I just saw it today, a couple of your congressmen, sir, ‘I think we should get involved in the negotiation of the tariffs,’” he said, pointing at Speaker Mike Johnson, who was sitting at a table near the stage. “Oh, that’s what I need, I need some guy telling me how to negotiate. Ay-yi-yi.”
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As for right now, the economic reality isn’t looking so good. While Trump was talking, Johnson was looking at his phone. Our eagle-eyed reporter in the press area above the crowd took this snap, showing Johnson reading Drudge. The blaring red headline? “Stocks Continue Plunge.”
Ay-yi-yi, indeed.
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