The 2024 State of the Union was held on March 7, allowing President Joe Biden to speak directly to the United States. Unsurprisingly, the antics and responses of conservatives are attracting much attention, including Mike Johnson’s bizarre “small talk” with Kamala Harris.
In October of 2023, Republican Louisiana politician Johnson was elected as the 56th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. As a result, this was his first time taking his designated spot during the State of the Union. It is customary for the Speaker of the House and Vice President of the United States to sit directly behind the President during the speech. Hence, Johnson and Harris were paired together behind Biden.
Given the country’s political climate, some may have been more interested in Johnson than Biden during the speech. Viewers did catch the Speaker of the House rolling his eyes, grimacing, and shaking his head throughout, although he reluctantly applauded at some parts.
Viewers were especially amused to see Harris give him the occasional side-eye for his attitude.
It certainly raised questions about what went on behind the scenes, especially regarding how Harris and Johnson coped with their pairing for the night. Apparently, Johnson coped by making the most bizarre small talk possible with Harris.
Mike Johnson roasted for “small talk” with Kamala Harris
It’s understandable that the State of the Union can be awkward when the Speaker of the House is on the opposite political side as the President and Vice President. However, there’s little to be done besides fulfilling one’s duties as civilly as possible and making polite, if awkward, conversation leading up to the speech. Johnson, though, took awkward small talk to another level with Harris.
After the speech, Johnson was speaking with Fox News about the night and was asked if he and Harris had a chance to engage in some “small talk.” He replied that he did. He preceded to give an example of one of the questions he asked Harris: “I asked her if her parents had been alive … did they survive to see her serving as Vice President, and she lamented that they had not.”
Wait … what? Since when is asking someone if their parents died considered small talk?! He did mention that he lost his own father days before his election to Speaker of the House, so there was a sad connection between them. However, most people with deceased parents don’t go around asking or assuming if everyone else’s parents are alive or not. Does he just routinely go up to women like, “So… did your parents die before they saw you succeed?”
Harris’s mother sadly passed in 2009, but what if it had been a recent loss and Johnson was suddenly inquiring about it in the guise of small talk? The question was also likely to sting, given that her father is alive, but she is not close to him.
Perhaps he and Harris did more talking than he let on, and things got personal. Then, the question might not be unusual. However, why would this deeply personal question be the one question he chooses to repeat on live TV? It didn’t take long for social media to begin roasting Johnson over his bizarre question, labeling it as an example of what NOT to ask on a first date or joking about how he must be the life of the party with these kinds of questions.
The moment must’ve been reminiscent of the part in Barbie where Barbie (Margot Robbie) randomly blurted out, “Do you guys ever think about dying?!”
Some accused Johnson of knowing the answer and purposefully bringing up the difficult topic. However, it seems more likely to be yet another example of men’s inability to have regular conversations with women. Men should not be routinely making the news for the cringy things they ask women, but it happens more often than some might think. During the BAFTAs, Prince William left viewers horrified after he commented to a woman that the movie, in which she depicts a sexual assault survivor, looked “fun” to make. Meanwhile, one TIFF reporter left Kate Winslet speechless after asking some bizarre question about whether women secretly want to be saved by men.
Do men really not know they can ask us average questions? They can ask us about the weather or how we’re doing, maybe even inquire about our plans for the weekend. They truly don’t have to start by asking, “Are your parents dead?” or “Do you want to be tied up so a man can save you?” or “Did you have a lot of fun depicting a sexual assault survivor?” It’s especially depressing that even the Duke of Wales and the U.S. Speaker of the House seemingly don’t know how to speak to women.
(Via Yahoo!, featured image: Win McNamee / Getty)
