House Speaker Mike Johnson made a revealing admission while defending President Donald Trump’s claims of election issues in California.
The 54-year-old Louisiana congressman told CNN on Monday that while he aligns with Trump on concerns about the Los Angeles mayoral primary, much of the alleged fraud is “impossible to prove.”
Johnson began by discussing the contest involving reality star Spencer Pratt, which Trump and other MAGA figures have criticized as unfairly “rigged.”
“Speaking of fraud, the president keeps saying that there’s election fraud in the California mayor’s race. What evidence is there to prove that?” asked CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju.
“You tell me, Manu,” Johnson replied. “They are counting votes weeks after the election. We have entire nations with huge populations, like India, that can count their votes in 24 to 48 hours.”
Pressed on whether he believes the election was “rigged,” as Trump has claimed, Johnson said, “I’m not saying it’s rigged. I’m saying it stinks to high heaven, and everybody knows that. Let’s, let’s, let’s remove the appearance of impropriety. Let’s have—what, what a concept—let’s have votes on an election the day of the election. That’s what many states are able to do. I think California is playing around with us.”
Raju again asked for evidence. Johnson responded, “Some of these efforts are so diabolical and so far upstream, it is impossible to prove. But I think everybody knows instinctively something is wrong here, and that’s a concern. We need people to believe in the integrity of our election system. It is critical to maintain a constitutional republic.”
Johnson also promoted the SAVE America Act, noting it requires proof of citizenship and a photo ID to vote, claiming that such measures enjoy broad public support. “Those are also 90-percent-plus issues in public opinion, and 70 percent of Democrats understand that’s necessary,” he said.
Raju challenged Johnson on whether Republicans only raise fraud claims when they lose elections. Johnson replied, “I’m saying that every leader of all parties should demand election integrity, and if somebody is opposing that, you should look at their motives.”
The controversy comes as MAGA supporters criticized California’s vote-counting process over the weekend. Celebrities like Laura Loomer, Meghan McCain, and Arizona GOP Rep. Abe Hamadeh questioned the legitimacy of the election after Pratt’s initial lead in the mayoral primary narrowed.
California’s slower vote count is largely due to its large population and the popularity of mail-in voting. Pratt was officially eliminated from the race on Monday, as the Associated Press confirmed LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman would advance to the November runoff against incumbent Democrat Karen Bass.