This is quite funny but also brutal. From a softball interview it shines through that this l guy’s life is just as horrifying as you suspect it might be, and I love that for him.
— First Wordle Problems (@fwordleproblems.bsky.social) November 26, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Much of Johnson’s dismay, I assume, is put on to garner sympathy from his audience — and the less discerning Savvy Media pundits. Annie Karni, however, is not a pushover; no doubt Pastor Mike *does* find himself caught between a rock and a hard place. “‘In Triage Every Day’: A Beleaguered Speaker Says He’s Overwhelmed”: [Gift link]
After several bruising weeks for Speaker Mike Johnson, a soft-focus podcast interview alongside his wife, conducted by Katie Miller, the wife of Stephen Miller, one of President Trump’s top advisers, had all the ingredients for a flattering reset.
What emerged from the interview instead was a portrait of a Republican leader barely keeping his head above water in a job to which he does not appear particularly well suited, a conversation full of tragically revealing details packaged as rueful humor but with the biting sting of truth.
“We have this joke that I’m not really a speaker of the House,” Mr. Johnson, who represents Louisiana, said in the latest episode of “The Katie Miller Podcast.”
It came across as less of a joke and more of an assessment of how he has chosen to wield his power…
Ms. Miller’s newish podcast offers conservative leaders a warm bath of an interview. They are peppered with questions about their family routines and their favorite foods. But even on this forgiving platform, Mr. Johnson presented himself as a man toiling to fulfill his duties at a moment when his weak grip on his conference appears to be slipping even further.
The conversation that Ms. Miller facilitated with Mr. Johnson and his wife, Kelly, meandered from what time Thanksgiving dinner should be served, to how to raise children who don’t identify as transgender, to how to keep a long marriage strong. But the throughline was Mr. Johnson’s sense of being crushed by his workload and the demands of his job managing an unruly Republican majority.
“I haven’t had a vacation day in two years. I haven’t been off in two years, literally,” he said. “Last Christmas, I was taking calls from members with their drama. It takes everything out of whomever serves in the position — and by extension, their family.”…
Friday Morning Open Thread: (No) Pity for Speaker JohnsonPost + Comments (192)