At today's House Republican leadership press briefing, Speaker Johnson praised President Trump.
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00:00Thanks to all of you. Welcome back. Hope you all had a blessed Passover and Easter. We did. Our members are excited. It's a great day in our country. Thanks to the Republican Party, America is back, and we're excited about it. I talked to the President twice this morning already. He's having a big celebration for the first 100 days in Michigan, as Chairwoman McLean noted, and he's excited about all of that and everything that we're all doing together. We had a big meeting of the Republican conference this morning, and they're all excited. They were all home for the two-week district work period.
00:30And they were moving around their districts and talking with their constituents and getting lots of pats on the back. It's a great time for the country, and you can sense our optimism about all that.
00:41It's been noted a couple times here, but 100 days ago, not far from where we're standing right now, President Trump made his historic return to the presidency. He made a lot of promises, and as Whip Emmer noted, the four words that best describe this administration so far is promises made, promises kept.
00:57We've recounted among this group many times, 77 million Americans delivered President Trump a landslide victory. We had our highest popular vote total ever as House Republicans, 74.8 million, and we got a mandate to do exactly what we're doing right now. We have not wasted a moment.
01:15President Trump has accomplished more in the first 100 days than most presidents do in their entire careers, their entire tenures.
01:22The Atlantic, right? I don't know if there's an Atlantic reporter here this morning, but that's not President Trump's – they're not a fan of him, right?
01:27Yesterday they described him this way, quote, he is the most consequential American leader of the 21st century.
01:33And that's an understatement.
01:36President Trump has – here's a list.
01:37Removed men from women's sports, ended DEI and the federal government and the U.S. military, expanded oil and gas extraction to lower prices, taken steps to end unfair trade practices, secured trillions of dollars in new investments in American manufacturing, deported criminal illegal aliens, stood up for religious liberty, and rooted out anti-Christian bias, combated virulent anti-Semitism on college campuses.
02:00The list goes on and on and on. That's just barely scratching the surface. That's in 100 days. We're just getting started, and that's one of the reasons that we're so excited.
02:09Nearly every public opinion survey found that voters in the last election were most concerned about two things. This is just one metric for consideration – inflation and the wide-open border and the crisis that created.
02:20Look at this. On just these two issues, in 100 days, legal crossings are at an all-time low, as Congressman Downing noted, and inflation is falling rapidly.
02:31President Biden often said that he had exhausted his executive authority. He told me that we needed new laws. He told me this many times himself.
02:38We had to stop the border crisis, but Congress has to act. I pleaded with President Biden, do your job. Use your executive authority. He claimed he didn't have it.
02:46But as President Trump has just demonstrated, all we needed was a new president. We needed real leadership. We didn't need new laws.
02:53The Trump administration has stopped illegal border crossings. Congressman Downing said it well. 99.9 percent success rate.
03:01The border crisis is solved. More than 100,000 illegal aliens and gang members have been deported, and that makes Americans safer. They feel more secure again.
03:10Groups of migrants are actually stopping their journeys, and they are turning around. You know why? Because we've got a new sheriff in town.
03:16Due to President Trump's border policies, we now know again that deterrence works.
03:21On inflation, President Trump promised to rapidly drive down prices and make American goods affordable again.
03:28The consumer price index beat expectations, actually dropped 0.1 percent in March. That is the first time that has happened since COVID, okay?
03:37Inflation is cooling. Energy prices are down, as we all know. Trillions of dollars in U.S. investments have been secured by the Trump administration.
03:44And again, we're just getting started. President Trump built the greatest economy in the history of the world in the first Trump administration.
03:50And we know that he can do it again, and we're going to help. And that's what we're engaged in. People are excited all around this country.
03:55We set fundraising records in the first quarter. We gave all the numbers out to the members this morning.
04:01I raised $32.2 million in the first quarter. It's an all-time record for a Republican speaker in a midterm.
04:08I'm not taking personal credit for that. I'm saying this is an all-team effort.
04:12Every House Republican is out working. Their sleeves are rolled up. They're working around the clock.
04:17We're setting fundraising records.
04:18The vulnerable Republicans from the swing districts and the vulnerable Democrats swing districts, it's the patriots and the frontliners, okay?
04:25The patriots outraised Democrats two to one. They almost doubled what Democrats raised, and they have almost doubled the amount of cash on hand right now.
04:34That's an indication of where the American people's sentiment is.
04:37They feel. They see that Republicans are delivering and Democrats are in disarray.
04:41But while we're working to build on President Trump's successes and codify his agenda into law, the Democrats just still don't get it.
04:50I mean, they just keep demonstrating they don't get it.
04:51More than 100 days into the 119th Congress, and the contrast could not be clearer.
04:56Everybody recounted some of this today, but they don't have any message.
04:59They don't have a clear leader. They don't have a clear vision.
05:02They don't know what to do.
05:03Their platform has been repudiated, and they're turning on themselves.
05:07You know, the vice chair of the DNC is going to spend tens of millions to take down his own incumbents.
05:12That shows you where they are.
05:14They've resorted to cursing and shouting and outrageous political stunts.
05:19Their approval ratings are in the low 20s.
05:22Their most vulnerable members got outraised two to one, as I mentioned, and it just goes on and on.
05:26Two polls I just want to highlight, and then we'll go to your questions.
05:29There was a poll that came out a little over a month ago.
05:34It was Quinnipiac, and I think it's the most telling poll of the first 100 days of this Congress.
05:39But I got the graphic in front of me.
05:42It was Politico published it.
05:43Lots of people talked about it.
05:45The headline says Democrats face historic discontent with the base.
05:48Now, what they did was they polled Democrats and their approval of their own party and Republicans' approval of their own party.
05:56I mentioned this before, but Democrats are underwater 9%.
06:00They have a net negative 9% approval rating in their party, whereas Republicans in Congress are enjoying a 69% approval rating, okay?
06:10So that chart is stark.
06:12It's the largest chasm between the two parties in history.
06:15It's the highest marks we've ever gotten and the lowest they've ever gotten.
06:18It tells you where they are.
06:19This morning, CNN has a new poll.
06:22Getting you a nod right there on the front row, right?
06:24Republicans' view of GOP leadership, 78% approved.
06:28Thank you, CNN.
06:2921% disapproved, all right?
06:31Democrats' view of Democrat leadership, 42% approved, 57% disapproved.
06:37Stark contrast between the two.
06:40And one of the most baffling political displays that we've ever seen, congressional Democrats used their district work period to fly to El Salvador and provide comfort to a wife-beating MS-13 gang member who entered the U.S. illegally.
06:50I mean, it was a shameful performance, and I hope their constituents do not forget it.
06:55We won't.
06:56And we reflect on the first 100 days of the Trump administration.
06:58It's very clear which party is fighting for the American people, for a stronger and safer and more prosperous America, as Leader Scalise just said.
07:06We're happy to be here, and we're happy today.
07:08You can probably tell.
07:09Take your questions.
07:10Yes, sir.
07:10Thank you very much, Mr. Spico.