House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dodged directly addressing Donald Trump’s vulgar comments about late pro golfer Arnold Palmer’s penis when pressed by CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday.
At a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania Saturday night, Trump spent 10 minutes telling his supporters a story about Palmer before adding in an anatomical anecdote.
“Arnold Palmer was all man,” he said. “…This man was all strong and tough. And I refused to say it but when − when he took showers with the other men, they came out of there, they said, ‘Oh my god. That’s unbelievable.’”
Confronted with the comment by Tapper on Sunday Johnson dodged the question and pivoted to Republican talking points attacking Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I’m sure that you think that a policy debate would be better than a personality debate, but if President Biden had gone on stage and spoke about the size of a pro golfer’s penis, I think you would be on this show right now saying you were shocked and appalled and you would suggest it was evidence of his cognitive decline,” Tapper said.
“Why is he talking about Arnold Palmer’s penis in front of Pennsylvania voters?” he pressed.
The two men went back and forth with Johnson telling Tapper “you seem to like that line a lot” and the anchor firing back noting that he’s just covering Trump’s comment.
“Don’t say it again. We don’t have to say it. I get it,” Johnson said after Tapper’s use of the word ‘penis,’ before pivoting to attack President Joe Biden.
“There’s lines in a rally. When President Trump is at a rally, sometimes he’ll speak for two straight hours,” Johnson continued. “You’re questioning his stamina, his mental acuity. Joe Biden couldn’t do that for five minutes. That’s how you started this segment. You said, what if Biden was in a rally like that? He couldn’t fill the room. Donald Trump does.”
