Democratic Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov and New York University (NYU) professor Scott Galloway praised Speaker of the House Mike Johnson during a Tuesday episode of their podcast.
Tarlov and Galloway criticized Johnson on “Real Time With Bill Maher” in 2023, with the NYU professor calling him “David Duke Lite.” Tuesday, however, Tarlov and Galloway, on “Raging Moderates,” said Johnson has excelled in his position and that his relationships with President-Elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk are assets. (RELATED: The Craziest Things Congress Snuck Into Its Pork-Packed Christmas Spending Spree)
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“I initially, when I had a litmus test or saw some of Speaker Johnson’s background, I thought, ‘Oh, this is David Duke Lite.’ I used that term … that was the wrong thing to say. And I don’t know the man; he doesn’t care what I think, but I think I got that wrong. I actually think Speaker Johnson has done a really good job,” Galloway said. “And that is, the speakership is supposed to be an administrative position, not a political one. I don’t agree with his politics. I’m never going to, but I think he’s been a good administrator.”
“I think he has done his job. He has tried. He has corralled people. He’s gotten the debt ceiling elevated. I think he is doing what that role commands of him, and I find him to be an adult, taking his actual position really seriously,” he added. “I think he’s done as good a job as we could have expected, from what is arguably one of the worst — it’s got to be just almost an impossible position right now.”
Johnson reclaimed the speakership for the 119th Congress on Friday. This, following Republican holdouts flipping their votes during the first round of voting.
Tarlov then spoke.
“I largely agree, not with the ‘David Duke Lite’ part. I think there are concerning things about him, and when we had that conversation a bit over a year ago, we didn’t know much about soon-to-be Speaker Johnson, except that he was part of an architect to overturn the election results,” Tarlov said. “And there was good reason to think that he was more of a firebrand than an administrator, and it turns out that he is happy to kind of be like a little elf right in the workshop. And he’s just running around from office to office saying, ‘What do you need? What do I need to do to get your vote?’”
“And he doesn’t have rhetorical flourishes. I mean, he’s fine on TV. He’s on all the time, which I appreciate. I think it’s good to hear from these people. He doesn’t seem that afraid to talk to people he disagrees with, which I think is a massive plus point … he’s getting the job done and he is working. Like I said, it’s going to be the slimmest majority since 1917,” she added. “What do you want from the man? He shows up every day. He looks perfect. He knows who he has to talk to. He has created a good, seemingly working relationship with President-elect Trump and Elonia and he knows how to kind of take what he gets from them and bring that back to an unruly caucus … generally speaking, yeah, I think he’s probably the right man for this moment.”
Trump endorsed Johnson for the speakership on Dec. 30, saying he is a “good, hard working, religious man” and will “do the right thing.”
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