Ashley Etienne, the former deputy press secretary for Vice President Kamala Harris, declared that there are three factors proving Donald Trump is "weak" as he prepares to move back into the White House.
Etienne appeared on CNN Friday with Republican strategist Scott Jennings shortly before the House vote.
"Donald Trump's endorsed Speaker Johnson...strongly...There's still these unknowns. There's still these 12 members that aren't sure that they're going to vote for the Speaker yet. We don't know the answer to that question. Secondly, he lost the the shutdown fight, the debt ceiling fight. Thirdly, Elon Musk is running the White House without even being in the White House. There's all these unanswered — "
"Well, to be clear, to be clear, the current White House is being run by Joe Biden's unelected staff," Jennings interjected. "But go ahead."
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Etienne continued, "But, nevertheless...Elon Musk is calling the shots domestically and internationally, going after some of our U.S. allies just recently."
Jennings interrupted again, asking "Who's the current, president and who's in charge? Can you answer?"
"It doesn't matter!" Etienne answered. "The point is, that Donald Trump is showing that he's weak. When you have somebody like Elon Musk making the decisions — I worked in two White Houses. No one gets ahead of the president or the president-elect, and Elon Musk is. So for me, this shows a weakness among Donald Trump, and it's not the strong footing that he would want..."
Friday morning, Trump posted his support for Johnson, writing, "Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support. A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!! - A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!"
Still, at least one MAGA Republican, Thomas Massie, was vocal in his opposition of Johnson due to Johnson's actions during the recent budget battle in which the Speaker negotiated with Democrats to pass the continuing resolution.
