Johnson (R-La.) and the 45th president took questions from reporters for about 20 minutes as the speaker faces threats from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to call for a vote on his removal.
“I think he’s doing a very good job,” Trump, 77, said of Johnson. “He’s doing about as good as you’re going to do. And I’m sure that Marjorie understands that, and she’s a very good friend of mine, and I know she has a lot of respect for the speaker.”
The trip marked the first time Johnson has met with Trump since he became the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, but the two have met several times before and have had a working relationship for years — culminating in Trump endorsing Johnson, 52, for speaker following his predecessor Kevin McCarthy’s ouster Oct. 3.
A source familiar with the plans told The Post that Friday’s visit had been in place for “weeks.”
For Johnson, however, his escape to Florida came at the perfect time after relentless criticism from Greene for even suggesting he could bring up Ukraine funding on the House floor.
“We’re getting along very well with the speaker and I get along very well with Marjorie,” Trump said.
“We have a speaker who was voted in and it was a complicated process and I think very — it’s not an easy situation for any speaker,” the 45th president went on.
Johnson, meanwhile, focused on arguing that the top issue in November is border security, which he said was tied to election integrity.
The speaker said the House will soon introduce a bill that “will require proof of citizenship to vote.” Though the measure is unlikely to become law, a floor vote would require Democrats to go on the record about whether they support non-US citizens picking America’s leaders.
“We will do everything in our power to ensure that we do have free and fair elections in this country,” Johnson vowed.
Greene, 49, has been the staunchest and most vocal opponent of Ukraine aid in the House and has called out Johnson for considering putting an assistance bill on the floor before securing the southern border. She has pressed for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to a peace deal and has claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want to invade other countries in Europe, contrary to statements by US and European leaders.
The speaker initially stalled Ukraine aid because he wanted to focus on Congress passing a federal funding package through the end of September, he told The Post in March.
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The speaker initially stalled Ukraine aid because he wanted to focus on Congress passing a federal funding package through the end of September, he told The Post in March.
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On Tuesday, Greene sent out a letter to her fellow House Republicans seeking to form a coalition against him.
“Mike Johnson is publicly saying funding Ukraine is now his top priority when less than 7 months ago he was against it,” Greene wrote in the letter. “The American people disagree — they believe our border is the only border worth fighting a war over, and I agree with them.”
Johnson argued in Congress Wednesday that bringing a vote to remove him would throw the House into “chaos,” and said he was meeting with Greene to speak about their differences.
The meeting apparently did not ease tensions, as Greene said Friday that Johnson is “full of s—” and is no different than former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) due to him voting against an amendment to require warrants for searches of Americans’ data under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which has divided Republicans in the House.