Overview
- Trump confirmed Tuesday that he used the epithet in a closed-door meeting eight years ago after previously denying it.
- Pressed by CNN’s Manu Raju, Speaker Mike Johnson said he is “baited every day” to comment and noted the phrasing is not how he speaks.
- Johnson argued the president’s words reflect frustration over immigration, citing people “not assimilating” and “taking over the country.”
- At the same time, House Republicans struggled to advance the first procedural vote on a nearly $900 billion defense policy bill, with at least eight GOP holdouts, according to CNN’s reporting cited by Raw Story.
- A New Republic report links the rhetoric to policy effects, pointing to recent immigration enforcement targeting Somali American communities in Minnesota.