House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) defended President Donald Trump during an interview over the weekend following the blowup that happened in the Oval Office this week with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Johnson made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” with host Dana Bash when asked if “America First” meant that the United States would no longer “support democracies when threatened with tyranny.”

“No, America First is everything that that phrase implies,” Johnson said. “I have always considered myself a Reagan Republican. I believe in the idea that he used to articulate well that, after World War II, America had a very certain responsibility. We’re the last great superpower on the planet. It’s very important that we maintain that status.”

“But we cannot maintain that status unless we maintain our own strength,” he continued. “And we achieve peace through strength. That was also a Reagan doctrine. So, what President Trump is doing is restoring that principle. He is a strong hand returned to the White House in a very perilous time on the world stage.”

Johnson said that he believes Zelensky acted “inappropriately” and that the incident sabotaged what would have been “a win-win-win across the board.”

“The mineral rights agreement would be a win-win for both countries,” he said. “It would give us an economic interest there, and everyone around the world knows that America will always defend our interest and our people. We would have created an economic partnership with Ukraine at a time when it needs to be reemerging.”

Johnson didn’t mince words when it came to how the United States views Russia and Vladimir Putin, saying that they were the “aggressor” in an “unjust war.”

“I think Vladimir Putin is an old-school communist, a former KGB agent, and he’s not to be trusted, and he is dangerous,” he said. “The way I view this is that China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are engaged in a new axis, axis powers, and they are not on America’s side. Let’s be crystal clear about that. You have to walk circumspectly in these perilous times on the world stage.”

“But America is back,” he added. “America is strong again.”

WATCH:

“He is not to be trusted, and he is dangerous.”@SpeakerJohnson responds to @DanaBashCNN when pressed on his views of Russian President Vladimir Putin. pic.twitter.com/LGftAHKvaC

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 2, 2025