A fitted blue suit. A red tie in the color of his party. Donald Trump walks the stage at Madison Square Garden in New York. In front of him, an army of red “Make America great again” caps came to attend his closing meeting this Sunday, October 27. The slogans are flying. For four hours, guests including Elon Musk, Hulk Hogan, Robert Francis Kennedy Jr, and Tony Hinchcliffe, unleashed the crowd of 20,000 people. It is now time for the Republican candidate’s speech.
Smiling, Donald Trump addresses the crowd. “We must elect members of Congress and Senators,” he says, referring to the legislative elections which will be held next week. The billionaire turns to Mike Johnson, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. “We can take the Senate pretty easily, and I think with our little secret, we’re going to do very well in the House of Representatives. Our little secret has a big impact. He and I have a little secret. We “We’ll say it when the race is over,” the former president concludes with a stifled laugh.
“I don’t intend to share it.”
The numerous racist remarks heard during this meeting relegated this allusion to a “little secret” to the background. However, it did not escape the Democrats. Because for them, there is no doubt: Donald Trump and Mike Johnson are preparing a plot aimed at stealing the presidential election on November 5. In 2020, the current Speaker of the House of Representatives had already worked hand in hand with the Republican candidate to undermine the results of the election, supporting a lawsuit filed in Texas to try to overturn the results in four Key states. A bad memory for the Democrats, revived by the almost explicit shenanigans of Donald Trump.
And the least we can say is that Mike Johnson did not seek to allay fears. On the contrary. “Speaking of secrecy, Harris knew Biden was physically and mentally weakened, and she said nothing,” he wrote in a declaration sent to the New York Timesreferring to unproven accusations that the White House covered up a decline in the president’s cognitive abilities. “The FBI knew the Russia collusion was false, and they kept it secret, too. It seems all these secrets didn’t matter to the media because they were pro-Democratic. But this one could help Donald Trump and now they care? By definition, a secret shouldn’t be shared, and I don’t intend to share this one,” he added. Beyond creating a frenzy among Democrats, Mike Johnson’s statement seems to confirm that the Republican candidate was indeed referring to a specific “secret”. Enough to further fuel speculation about his plans.
Fear of electoral fraud
Dan Goldman, Democratic Representative of New York, for example, assumed that the “little secret” was a “backup plan” to overturn the election in the event of Donald Trump’s defeat. “On January 6, the vote count will take place, and as we have known since 2021, whoever controls Congress will have a say,” he worries in an interview granted to CNNimplicitly evoking the role that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, can play.
If Democrats fear that Mike Johnson is participating in electoral fraud, a revision of the vote counting law adopted after the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 should work in their favor. Since this date, the task of presiding over the certification of the results has in fact been entrusted to the vice-president, and no longer to the president of the House of Representatives. However, Mike Johnson will not be helpless. The latter could still contribute to the organization of legal proceedings by the Republicans, or put pressure on the electoral commissions of different states so that they reject legitimate votes. The Speaker of the House of Representatives could also try to refuse to seat new Democratic members of Congress. But will he use his powers? Answer next January.