House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Newsmax on Thursday that everything President Joe Biden has touched since former President Donald Trump left office in 2021 "has been a disaster," leaving him with "nothing to brag about" in his State of the Union address.
Johnson covered a range of issues in a sit-down interview with Greta Van Susteren, host of "The Record with Greta Van Susteren," on Capitol Hill, looking ahead to Thursday night's State of the Union, which Johnson said is in "decline" on Biden's watch.
Johnson has a catbird seat for his first SOTU as speaker, seated directly behind Biden during the address. However, he said he'd much rather be taking in a message of prosperity vs. the "different reality than we have right now," including a president who's "missing a step" on the world stage.
"You look at the contrast on election day between President Trump and President Biden. I mean, it is a stark contrast, night and day," Johnson told Van Susteren. "Everybody knows what President Trump can deliver because we did that.
"After the first two years his administration, we had the greatest economy in the history of the world, not just the U.S. — ever. In every demographic, everybody was doing better," Johnson said. "The world was safer. We were projecting, you know, strength on the world stage. And so we were maintaining peace because of it. In terms of public policy, in terms of our standing around the globe, it was just a much different reality than we have right now.
"Right now people are hurting. Families are hurting. I mean, we're not on a sustainable trajectory. Everything President Biden has touched has been a disaster. He has nothing to brag about," Johnson added.
Van Susteren lamented that the country doesn't get to see Biden very often, given his dearth of interviews, but neither has Johnson.
"I don't get to see him 1-on-1 very often. In fact, for about six straight weeks, I requested a meeting," Johnson said. "They wouldn't allow me to schedule that. They wouldn't allow me to meet with him, which is a little disconcerting."
Johnson said he's only met with Biden 1-on-1 twice, and both times "were very brief."
"He just doesn't inspire confidence, right? I'm trying to be charitable about this, but I think everybody recognizes that Joe Biden, as an individual, is not on his A-game," Johnson said. "He doesn't have the same level of, let's say, acumen that he did when he was the chair of the Judiciary Committee in the U.S. Senate."
Biden, who is 81, was judiciary chair from 1987-95.
"And it's not a slight against him personally. I mean, everybody ages differently, but he's missing a step, you know, and we know that, we see it, and so do our adversaries," Johnson added. "And that's why Russia and China and Iran and everybody else, North Korea, around the country, are acting so provocatively because we are not — Reagan reminded us we maintain peace through strength.
"We're not projecting strength right now. And so that invites aggression and that's what we're seeing," he said.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE – See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com