'This Week' Transcript 10-6-24: House Speaker Mike Johnson and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell

A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, October 5, 2024 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the "This Week" transcript archive.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC "THIS WEEK" ANCHOR: Let's bring in the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Mr. Speaker, thank you for joining us this morning.

In the wake of the assassination attempts on Donald Trump, you worked all sides to tone down the rhetoric. So, is it right for the president and his family to suggest that Democrats are behind the effort to assassinate him?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE & (R) LOUISIANA: I just saw the clip. I was at an event in Texas last night, so I didn't watch all the remarks from Pennsylvania.

I will tell you, I talked to President Trump right after it, and he was pleased. They had a massive crowd there and a lot of enthusiasm and energy.

But I didn't hear all the comments. I don't know the context. I – what I – the clip that I just heard that you just played there, George, I don't think they're saying that Democrat – the Democratic Party tried an assassination attempt.

I – I think what they're alluding to is what we’ve all been saying. They have got to turn the rhetoric down. For years now the leading Democrats in this country, the – the highly – highest elected officials and the current nominee for president have gone out and said that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. That, you know, the republic will end if he's re-elected.

It's absolute nonsense. And they have incited dangerous people to do dangerous things. The rhetoric has. I think that is a fact that's objective that everybody can agree to. We do need to turn the volume down.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well –

JOHNSON: We have to have vigorous debates about policy, but – but not – not take it to that level. No one involved in this is a threat to the republic.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But Mr. Speaker, you just said Democrats are. You said their – you said their rhetoric is inciting. We all just saw what both President Trump – former President Trump and his son Eric said.

Eric actually did specifically reference Democrats. He said, “They tried to kill him. They tried to kill him and it's because of the Democratic Party, they can't do anything right.”

Do you support those comments or not?

JOHNSON: I – I don't know what Eric was saying because I only heard just a – a snippet there. I don't know the context. I do know that Eric is very level-headed and a very intelligent person.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You just saw it, sir.

JOHNSON: I saw your clip of it, George. I didn’t see the full speech. We need to all look at these things in full context. What they're referring to, though, is the absolute open attacks that have been engaged by Democrats against President Trump since the day he came down that golden escalator in 2016, OK?

The lawfare is unprecedented. They have attacked him in every single way. They try to malign his character every single day. And the people have had enough of it. That's why you have these massive turnouts at the rallies. People have had enough of this.

We need everybody on all sides to turn the rhetoric down and let's have a debate about the records of these candidates, not the rhetoric. Let's talk about the policies, not the personalities. That's what the American people demand and deserve. These are serious issues the country’s facing. We need to be talking about the ideas and the answers and the solutions to get out of them, and not all this other stuff.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you're actually repeating the charge. And I don't know what more context you need. Here's exactly what Eric Trump said. “They tried to smear us. They came after us. They impeached him twice. And then, guys, they tried to kill him. They tried to kill him, and it's because the Democratic Party, they can't do anything right. What more context do you need? Do you support that statement or not?

JOHNSON: George, George, I'm not going to parse the language what people say at rallies. I could give you pages and pages of crazy comments by the leading Democrats in this country. That's not what this is about. We have to talk about the greatest collection of challenges that this country is facing probably since World War II, maybe the Civil War. Let's – let’s put all this political nonsense behind us and talk about how we get out of this mess. And I believe the way we do, and I believe on – a large number of the majority of the American people understand, you have to put steady hands at the wheel. You’ve got to put President Donald J. Trump back in the White House because he will bring stability back. He will get the economy going again. He will restore our stature on the world stage at a time where we're facing – almost on the verge of World War III. You have got to get his leadership back in the White House. That's why the massive crowds are drawn to these rallies. And that's why I believe we're going to win in November.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Isn't that rhetoric the kind of political nonsense you're talking about?

JOHNSON: Look, we’re in an election cycle. This is a silly season, as they say. We're in the – 30 days out from the most fateful (ph) election of our lifetime. Let's talk about the economy. Let's talk about our stability on the world stage. Let's talk about the rising crime rates and the wide-open border. That's what the American people are concerned about. Not all this other stuff.

I mean, I’ve been traveling the country nonstop, George. I've done campaign events in I think almost 215 cities across 39 states. I'll be in 65-plus cities this month alone.

Everywhere I go, George, large crowds are gathered and they have questions. They have really important questions about how these crises are going to be solved for their families, how we're going to fix the economy, how we're going to get our energy policy going again.

The Republican Party, President Trump, the House Republicans, the Senate Republicans have answers to those things. We're delivering them with great credibility and it is resonating with the people. And I think that's why we're going to have a very good November.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, it's very clear you're not going to condemn the base’s suggestion the Democrats are behind the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

I’m ask you another question --

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: George, George, there's so many -- please, anything else --

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, you have the opportunity to condemn it if you want. You have that opportunity, but we can move on now.

I do want to ask you a question that Senator Vance did not answer at this week's debate. Can you say unequivocally that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump lost?

JOHNSON: See, this is the game that is always played by mainstream media with leading Republicans. It’s -- it's a gotcha game. You want us to litigate things that happened four years ago when we're talking about the future. We're not going to talk about what happened in 2020. We're going to talk about 2024 and how we're going to solve the problems for the American people.

I think this thing -- this game that's played all the time, I’m not going to engage in it. We're -- we're not talking about that.

Joe Biden has been the president for almost four years. Everybody needs to get over this and move forward. That's what we need to talk about, what happens on November 5 and the days after that.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, like --

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: I think it’s really important and that’s what the American people demand for us to talk about.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, like Senator Vance, you cannot say unequivocally that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump lost?

JOHNSON: George, I’m the speaker of the House. I work with the president of the United States all the time. Joe Biden has been the president for four years. There's not a question about this, okay?

It's already been done and decided, and this is a gotcha game that's played and I’m not playing it. I want to talk about the future. Let's talk about policies.

Ask me anything you want on, any challenging issue. Let's put that out there for the American people. That's what they need to hear.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, it's President Trump who every single day -- former President Trump, at just about every rally is say -- is saying that the election was rigged, that he won and that Joe Biden lost. I’m just saying if you accept that or not.

JOHNSON: George, I’m not going to play the game. Ask me any question on any issue that's facing the country. They're some of the biggest issues that we faced.

How about another hurricane headed toward the country? How about Israel being fired upon by Iran? How about the rising crime rates that have everybody alarmed around this country and the cost of living because hard-working families can't afford to do it?

We have -- I’ve talked to moms and dads around the country taking second and third jobs to put food on the table because Bidenomics has destroyed their family finances. They're -- they're -- they're trying to -- GoFundMe, the website, said there's a 40 percent increase this year over last of people who are starting GoFundMe pages to prevent their cars from being repossessed and being evicted from their homes.

That's what the Biden-Harris policies have done to the country and that's what the American people want you and me to engage on and talk about. We have answers for all that, and I’m -- I’m delighted to talk about it. Let's do that.

Mr. Speaker, the reason it's relevant is because of what former President Trump says at every rally. He's also laying the groundwork to challenge the results this year if he loses.

Let's look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I lose, I’ll tell you what's possible because they cheat, that's the only way we're going to lose because they cheat. They cheat like hell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Is that what you believe the only way that Donald Trump loses is if the Democrats cheat?

JOHNSON: Donald Trump's going to win.

I’ll tell you that election security is a major concern of the American people. All these cities have been in hundreds of places doing campaign rallies over the last several months. The first or second question almost without exception in every audience and crowd is about election security.

I think the latest poll says 60 percent of Americans and both parties are worried about that. They're worried about election interference by foreign nationals like Iran who's trying to meddle in our elections. They're worried about, of course, illegals voting, non-citizens voting. That is against federal law.

Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have not made clear to people, reminding them it is against federal law. And we know that the handful of states that have done audits on their voter rolls have shown that you have non-citizens currently registered to vote. That's a concern. That's a problem by people, and it's not being adequately addressed by the Biden-Harris administration.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: We’re hopeful that we have a free and fair election. I certainly hope so.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And that -- that gets to my final question for you as well.

What would you do next January 6th if you are indeed speaker? If every state completes the certification process successfully, will you accept the results even if Kamala Harris is the winner?

JOHNSON: George, I’m going to follow the Constitution. Article Two of the Constitution is very clear, Congress has a very specific role and we must -- we must fulfill it.

I’ve made a career defending the Constitution, I always have. And I’ve demonstrated over and over that we are going to do the right and lawful thing. So you can count on that. We're going to do our job.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Mr. Speaker, thanks for your time this morning.

JOHNSON: Thanks, George.