'Playing dumb': Mike Johnson hammered after wild claim about who's running the government

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Raw Story

October 27, 2025 3:30PM ET


President Donald Trump was caught mocking Speaker Mike Johnson, claiming not only to be the president but also to control Johnson so thoroughly that he is, in effect, the speaker as well. This has prompted renewed questions about who is actually running the government.

Writing in The New Republic on Monday, Edith Olmsted argued that Johnson is taking "playing dumb to a whole new level." Johnson holds daily news conferences about the government shutdown, and during Monday's event, he insisted that it’s not just Republicans who control the government. Since the GOP controls the House, Senate, and White House, the claim raised eyebrows.

Johnson and top GOP senators have struggled to convince most Americans that Democrats are to blame for the shutdown.

"With the government shutdown entering its fourth week, Johnson has turned playing dumb into an art form as he abstains from actually leading his party," wrote Olmsted. "During his daily delivery of remarks to the press, Johnson has incessantly insisted he hasn’t heard about anything bad his government has done while running a deluded defense of President Donald Trump’s administration."

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/speaker-mike-johnson-2674237251/

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Link to The New Republic article - https://newrepublic.com/post/202296/mike-johnson-control-government-shutdown

Link to referenced Daily Beast article - https://www.thedailybeast.com/president-donald-trump-humiliates-house-speaker-mike-johnson-behind-closed-doors/

[littlemissmartypants]

1. 🌞Good morning! Have you seen the video? ...

He's try his damnedest not to smile. He needs a little bit more botox around those lips and at the corners of his eyes.

He's pretty much got the rest of his face full already. See how puffy it is? Watch how nothing moves.

But he did crack a smile at the beginning. Sure sign of deception. Combined with the eye blinks during and after speaking. Lying.

But we know that. He's so f^cking bad at it.

I hope you have a great day, BRDS. ❤️

[BumRushDaShow]

4. He's probably on some kind of tranquilizer.

[littlemissmartypants]

5. He needs a really, really, really, strong one at a very high dosage. 😉

[slightlv]

6. Or beta blockers...

Anything that would help project calm and truthiness. Too bad the R's have done it for so long the only people fooled now are magas.

[IbogaProject]

11. Xanex really helps liers

[joshdawg]

2. There is no "playing" dumb with johnson..........

it comes naturally to him.

[patphil]

8. You beat me to it.

This smirking sycophant is the personification of a toadie; totally lacking in honor and integrity, and willing to do whatever his boss tells him to do.

[DFW]

3. To some degree, I believe him. It's not just the Republicans running things.

It’s also United Russia and the Chinese Communist Party.

Depending on which Republican members of Congress they own. Iowan congresspeople standing wordlessly by while Trump watches over Argentina selling $40 billion in soybeans to China. Who can realistically claim to represent Iowa and watch that happen without a peep?

[GusBob]

7. I think they are motivated by fear, not ignorance

They are all cowards. But the Epstein stuff has them terrified. On top of being afraid of Magats

[Owens]

9. Believe the big lie

A big lie is a gross distortion or misrepresentation of the truth primarily used as a political propaganda technique. Johnson wants Trump's cult to believe that Democrats have control of the House and Senate.

[republianmushroom]

10. Well rump is correct on this one,

he does tell mikey how the cow is going eat the cabbage.

[Scalded Nun]

12. He walks a fine line with the dumb business

[gfarber]

13. The Art Of Playing Dumb

A president boasted with flair,
“That Speaker’s my man over there!
I pull every string,
He’ll dance, shout, or sing—
In truth, I’m the one in the chair!”

Each morning Mike faces the throng,
Insisting that he can’t be wrong.
Though questions abound,
He’ll feign being sound—
And claim he’s not part of the song.

Four weeks, and the lights still are dim,
But Johnson stays loyal and prim.
“The Dems are to blame!”
He cries, with no shame—
While the fault clearly circles back him.

Said Olmsted: “He’s raised to new heights
The art of performing half-rights.
He shrugs at the mess,
Deflects with finesse—
A master of clueless soundbites.”

The White House, the Senate, the floor—
They’re claiming they don’t run the store.
But Trump says, “That’s me!
I’m all three, you see—
Why settle for one when there’s more?”

[calimary]

14. Holy Cow, that last stanza!!!

Frankly, that’s all one might ever need, to sum up how the donald views the government.