Speaker Johnson to attend Trump trial in Manhattan in show of support

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is expected in downtown Manhattan on Tuesday morning to show solidarity with former President Trump during his criminal trial.

A spokesperson for Johnson told Fox News Digital early on Tuesday that he would be in New York City for the trial, making him the latest Trump ally in Congress to appear beside the ex-president in the Manhattan Criminal Court. 

He is also expected to speak with reporters outside the courthouse after attending the trial.

Johnson is slated to be there at the same time as Vivek Ramaswamy, the former 2024 Republican primary candidate-turned-possible Trump running mate choice.

The former president’s trial is related to accusations that he falsified business records to cover up a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.

Johnson, who has long been a Trump ally but has grown significantly closer to him since becoming speaker in October, has criticized the prosecutions against Trump, including the Manhattan case, as inherently political.

‘One of the things that is also in jeopardy right now is our judicial branch, and it’s our system of government itself. And I don’t think we can say often enough here, how much that has been abused under this administration with local prosecutors, state prosecutors, and at the federal level, who are using lawfare,’ Johnson said during a press conference last week. 

‘They’re using our judicial system to get the most out of that, and I think the most egregious one is what is being done to Donald Trump right now.’

On the Manhattan trial specifically, Johnson said, ‘That case should never have been brought.’

‘That case is being orchestrated by Democrats, supporters of President Biden, who are trying to make a name for themselves,’ Johnson said.

Trump appears to have played a critical role in helping Johnson keep his job as speaker amid an ouster threat led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., by showing public support for the Louisiana Republican even as one of his top supporters and campaign surrogates called for his firing.

Other Trump allies in Congress who have made appearances at the Manhattan courthouse so far include Sens. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Rick Scott. R-Fla.