The many faces of a new speaker show anything but approval
During his first State of the Union address as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson sat center stage, just over President Biden’s left shoulder, with one of the worst poker faces in American politics.
His eyebrows rose and fell. He pursed his lips. He couldn’t decide whether to stand up, smile or frown.
He grinned. He corrected himself. He rolled his eyes a little. He looked down. He sighed. He shook his head. He swallowed. He smiled again. He looked amused and patient, while clearly intending to look serious and not at all happy.
To be fair, it seemed like another artist missed his own cue first.
As usual, Mr Johnson banged the gavel as Mr Biden took the stage. And when Mr. Biden began: “Mr. Speaker,” Mr. Johnson leaned forward briefly, as if expecting Mr. Biden to give him a chance to deliver the president’s ceremonial introduction.
Instead, Mr. Biden immediately began his speech, and Mr. Johnson nodded politely and sat down.
He then had the great privilege and honor of trying to control his boyish facial expressions for more than seventy minutes on national television.
“I’m afraid he may have practiced it in front of a mirror,” said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.
Mr Johnson had urged fellow Republicans ahead of the speech to respect the decorum of the event and refrain from the disruptions that have become commonplace in recent years. He more or less managed to keep his party under control.
But his own eyebrows, lips and eyes were another matter.
Part of Mr Johnson’s challenge was one of contrast. Vice President Kamala Harris, seated to his right, managed to appear both relaxed and disciplined, with a face that always conveyed the message.
For as long as cameras have been pointed at presidents, speakers in the House of Representatives have been more than just a State of the Union backdrop. They are often silent characters – especially if they belong to the president’s opposition.
Paul Ryan joked that he practiced his own poker face for former President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address, Mr. Ryan’s first as speaker.
Nancy Pelosi was a foil to former President Donald J. Trump, alternating a sarcastic punch with a fearless scowl. At the end of Trump’s 2020 speech, she calmly stood up and tore his printed remarks in half, like a disgruntled customer rejecting a bill.
And Thomas P. O’Neill Jr., in 1984, can be seen over Ronald Reagan’s left shoulder, leaning back and rolling his papers into a tight tube, which he set down only to applaud.
Mr. Johnson did not touch the papers in front of him, and while he sometimes nodded approvingly, he appeared to applaud Mr. Biden only sparingly — especially after Mr. Biden said there would be no American soldiers on the ground in Ukraine. and when Mr. Biden quoted Reagan.
While Ms. Harris regularly rose to join the standing ovations of her fellow Democrats, Mr. Johnson was given no such exercise.
Still, at the end of the speech, Mr. Johnson applauded and stood, shook the president’s hand, buttoned his suit jacket and — while Mr. Biden lingered in the well of the House chamber — seemed very ready to go . At home.