Mike Johnson, the 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives, is one of the most influential figures in Washington and a central player in the Republican Party’s efforts to retain control of Congress. A former constitutional attorney and Louisiana state legislator, Johnson was first elected to Congress in 2016 and rose to the speakership in October 2023, following a contentious leadership battle triggered by the ouster of his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy. Since then, he has faced the formidable challenge of holding together a deeply divided Republican majority while advancing President Trump’s legislative agenda. His leadership has drawn praise from two former Republican speakers, Newt Gingrich and John Boehner, both of whom have expressed admiration for his ability to navigate the divisions within his party.
With the November midterm elections fast approaching and polls raising concerns about the Republican Party’s prospects, Johnson faces one of the most consequential tests of his political career. In this exclusive interview with Ami, he discusses the electoral landscape, the stakes for President Trump’s agenda and the challenges confronting the country.
Thank you very much for the opportunity. The elections are just days away, and I’m sure that you’re very busy. You’ve been traveling around the country campaigning for the Republican candidates. What are you seeing on the ground that gives you confidence?
I’m very confident about this election. I’ve been sounding the alarm that all the polling should be ignored right now. The fact is that over the last ten days, two polling organizations, Wedgewood Polls and SoCal Strategies, have been outed as distributing completely fake data. But even the most prominent organizations, outlets like the Pew Research Center and even CNN, are now openly acknowledging that there’s a problem out there, and the polls are underestimating Republican support. They’ve created a term for it; they call it partisan non-response bias. But what it means is that Republicans are simply no longer participating in the polls because they don’t trust the people who are calling for their information.
I’m traveling nonstop. I was in 39 of our battleground congressional districts across 21 states over the last three weeks, and we’ll be doing that all the way until the elections. I remain convinced that Republicans across the country are far more enthusiastic and engaged than the mainstream media wants everyone to believe. I believe we’re going to have a good night, and I believe we’re going to win and hold the majority.
Historically, though, the party occupying the White House tends to lose seats in the midterms, so besides the polls we’re also talking about bucking history, which is another challenge.
We are, and we acknowledge that. We know the challenge. But I think there are a couple of factors that make this a midterm unlike any we’ve ever seen before. We have a stark contrast between the two parties. We refer to this as a contrast election between common sense and crazy, and I think people around the country recognize that this is not our fathers’ Democrat Party any longer. They are being overtaken and overrun by an insurgent left that includes socialists, communists, Marxists, the anti-Semites—all of these movements that have just overtaken the party.
We have a strong contrast between the Republicans and the Democrats on the ballots. We have far superior candidates than they do; we have common sense candidates who are true leaders. We have a historic record to run on from the current Congress, and we have phenomenal grassroots energy around the country. When you put all that together, I think we will defy the historic trend.
It has only happened twice in 90 years that a sitting president has picked up seats for his party, but there are two primary motivating factors in a midterm election that spurs along the turnout. One is anger. Normally, when a president wins the White House, the other party is upset about it, so they send out their grassroots and take House seats away from him. But the other motivating factor is fear. What I’ve seen from my own observation from coast to coast as I campaign in the toughest districts is a real fear element out there. People understand that they fear this rise of the Marxist and anti-Semitic left that is now being referred to as the red-green alliance, where the Islamists are combining with the movement. People are fearful about that, and I think it’s going to motivate a big bump on our side.
There was a time when support for Israel was overwhelmingly bipartisan, but today it has become a divisive issue, particularly within the Democrat Party. Do you believe that bipartisan support for Israel can still be restored?
I pray that it can be. Obviously, the president and Republicans understand the importance of supporting our ally, Israel, and we’re deeply committed to maintaining it for all the reasons we know that it’s so important. But I really am afraid that the Democrat Party, in its next platform for the next election cycle in 2028, will be openly and expressly anti-Israel. I hope that’s not the case. I hope there can be some turn of events. But I believe this is becoming a completely divisive issue because that’s what the Democrats are making it. You’re going to have Republicans standing with Israel, and you’re going to have Democrats on the other side. I hope I’m wrong about that, but I’m afraid of where this trend leads us if it isn’t stopped.
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