AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In one of his latest fundraising emails sent out on Friday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said he refused to "put people over politics," in an apparent gaffe.
The fundraising email was posted to X by Axios reporter Andrew Solender, noting that its subject line was "I'm their new boogeyman."
—Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) November 3, 2023
Tucked near the end of the request for donations, Johnson railed against the "woke, liberal agenda" that he said "puts Americans LAST" before he seemingly made an erroneous blunder.
"I refuse to put people over politics," the email then reads.
"People over politics" has been a battle cry in recent years for House Democrats, who've used the slogan in speeches and social media campaigns. It's also featured on Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' congressional website.
In Jeffries' case, he said he'd work to put "people over politics by lowering costs, creating better-paying jobs and fighting for safer communities."
Rather than responding to the faux pas with a quote, the House Majority PAC responded instead with a meme from the show "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson."
"Oh, my god, he admit it!" the picture is captioned.
As speaker of the House, Johnson is now in charge of helping to maintain the Republican Party's majority in the House in the 2024 election season, namely in the form of fundraising. Johnson's two predecessors, Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Nancy Pelosi, each helped to bring in hundreds of millions in donations for GOP candidates.
Prior to being elected speaker, Johnson only reported raising $553,013 for his 2024 reelection campaign and never brought in more than $1.3 million in a campaign cycle.
He's since hired McCarthy's "fundraising guru," Jeff Miller, to assist him along with several other staffers in raising funds for an entire caucus with about a year to go until the 2024 election.
