Mike Johnson Claims ‘Who Won The 2020 Election’ Is A ‘Gotcha’ Question
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) echoed Sen. JD Vance’s answer during last week’s debate with his vice presidential opponent Tim Walz, claiming that the media asking whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election is somehow a “gotcha” question.
On Sunday, George Stephanopoulos asked Johnson whether he can “unequivocally” say that Biden won the 2020 election and that Trump lost. The long-debunked election conspiracy is something that the former president continues to bring up at his campaign rallies, even a month before the 2024 election.
“See, this is the game that is always played by mainstream media with leading Republicans. It’s a gotcha game,” Johnson said on ABC’s “This Week.” “You want us to litigate things that happened four years ago when we’re talking about the future. We’re not gonna talk about what happened in 2020, we’re gonna talk about 2024 and how we’re gonna solve the problems for the American people.”
“I think this thing, this game that’s played all the time, I’m not gonna engage in it,” he continued.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Can you say unequivocally that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Trump lost?
MIKE JOHNSON: See, this is the game that is always played by mainstream media with mainstream Republicans. It's a gotcha game.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So like Vance, you can't say… pic.twitter.com/0vFnZHi4a3— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 6, 2024
The answer was virtually the same as last Tuesday’s debate, when the Minnesota governor asked his Republican opponent from Ohio about whether he believes Trump won in 2020, referring to comments Vance made earlier this year that questioned the election’s results. Vance avoided answering the questioning, only saying he’s “focused on the future.”
“That’s a damning non-answer,” Walz responded. “I’m pretty shocked by this. [Trump] lost the election, this is not a debate. It’s not anything anywhere other than in Donald Trump’s world.”
Vance has repeatedly accused the media of being obsessive over the election constantly propped up by the ex-president. But on Thursday, a newly resurfaced exchange from two years ago revealed the Republican falsely claiming that Trump won in 2020. The clip posted Thursday showed Vance also being asked by Jason Selvig of political comedy duo The Good Liars if he would concede should his opponent win more votes. The senator refused to answer.