House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) took a swing at Democratic lawmakers and said they “incited violence” with bombastic rhetoric about President Donald Trump amid the aftermath of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting on Saturday night.

Appearing Monday on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” to discuss the incident that happened at the Washington Hilton hotel, the Louisiana lawmaker was asked about his thoughts on a Sunday X post from Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), in which he called on lawmakers to stop focusing on TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome] and build Trump’s White House ballroom “for events exactly like these.”

Fox News Host Bill Hemmer then asked Johnson if he’s been “hearing enough from your Democratic colleagues on the tone that Senator Fetterman struck there?”

The House Speaker flat-out said no before calling Fetterman “a rare voice in that camp,” adding, “We need more of that.”

Johnson blamed Democratic lawmakers for having “done the opposite” of Fetterman.

“I mean, you have some of the most prominent figures in the House and [in] the Senate on the Democrat side effectively calling for war. They use those kinds of metaphors,” he continued. “And it incites violence, because there are crazy people in society, and they get radicalized online. And so, we’ve got to recognize that. It’s time to turn down the rhetoric — we’ve been saying this over and over — and not use that kind of language.”

Noting that he hopes the incident will serve as a “sobering reminder for everybody about that very important cause,” Johnson praised Fetterman’s take.

“I’m grateful to Fetterman. He’s right, the ballroom will be a solution for this, because it’ll be on the most secure compound in the world. It won’t have hotel rooms above it,” he added. “And it’ll have seven-inch-thick glass, for example, on the windows. So, it’ll be a very safe environment to do events like this. We need a place, we have needed a place like that, and the president keeps pointing it out.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is not usually held at the White House, as it’s hosted by the White House Correspondents’ Association and not White House officials.

Trump, who was whisked away from the WHCD Saturday night after a gunman charged through a security checkpoint at the dinner and opened fire, used the incident to renew his push for his controversial planned $400 million White House ballroom.

“This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House,” the president wrote in a Sunday Truth Social post. “It cannot be built fast enough!”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit to halt construction of the ballroom in December 2025, alleging that Trump skipped over congressional approval to demolish the East Wing for the project.

Trump called the lawsuit “ridiculous” and demanded that it be dropped “immediately” in his Truth Social post.

“Nothing should be allowed to interfere with its construction, which is on budget and substantially ahead of schedule!!!” he added.

Watch Johnson’s appearance on “America’s Newsroom” below. Skip to the 5:03 mark to hear his remarks.

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.