House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has revealed how former President Donald Trump reached out to him to share some words of faith after his teenage sons nearly drowned during a trip to Palm Beach last year.
The Republican, 52, recounted the near-death incident in an interview with The Atlantic published on April 22.
Mr. Johnson told the publication that he had been visiting Palm Beach in Florida for a fundraising event during the week of Thanksgiving last fall and had taken his two teenage sons with him.
President Trump, upon hearing Mr. Johnson was in town, had invited him and his sons to have dinner at his property in Mar-a-Lago, to which the House speaker obliged, he said.
Their dining lasted roughly two and a half hours, he told The Atlantic.
The following day, Mr. Johnson was meeting with donors at a beachside hotel, located not too far from Mar-a-Lago, when his security detail informed him that his 18-year-old son Jack, and 13-year-old son Will had been swept out by a rip current.
According to Mr. Johnson, the older son had been attempting to save the younger son when a passing parasailer spotted his head just barely poking out of the water and alerted lifeguards, who immediately picked them up.
‘God Saved Your Sons’ Lives’
“President Trump heard about it somehow, miraculously, this never made the news,” Mr. Johnson told the publication.The pair then spoke on the phone, according to Mr. Johnson.
During their conversation, President Trump was “just so moved by the idea that we almost lost them, and we talked about it at great length,” he added.
“And we talked about the faith aspect of that, because he knows that I believe that, you know, that God spared the lives of my sons. That’s how I understand those events, and we talked about that,” Mr. Johnson continued, “And he said, he repeated back to me and said, ‘God, God saved your sons’ lives.'”
Mr. Johnson—who is an evangelical Southern Baptist—recounted the story after being asked whether he believes President Trump has the “moral guidance” that “you would hope that everybody in power would have.”
“You know, he talks about faith,” the Louisiana native said. “He and I’ve talked about faith.”
The Epoch Times has contacted a spokesperson for Mr. Johnson for comment.
Johnson Under Fire
Mr. Johnson’s recollection of the near-death experience involving his sons comes as he is facing widespread criticism from his fellow House Republicans regarding his leadership.Some of Mr. Johnson’s colleagues, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) have called for him to step down.
“Look, we have a majority of one, okay? So, it’s not like he can go and do whatever he wants to do,” President Trump said.
After sharing his support for Mr. Johnson, President Trump, who is the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, went on to state that only a White House win and more GOP lawmakers in Congress can save America.
“We have to win the presidency. If we don’t win the presidency, our country, I’m telling you, I think our country could be finished,” he added.
