To Understand Mike Johnson, Look to Small-Town Louisiana

‘Mike is a different cut’: 1,200 miles from Washington, friends and neighbors shed light on what drives the new Speaker of the House.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Freepik, Shutterstock, Bobby Sanchez for The Epoch Times

BENTON, La.—In the classic American film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” an idealistic leader appointed to the U.S. Senate finds himself in a tangle of political corruption and intrigue as he struggles to do what’s best for the people.

Mr. Smith, played by actor Jimmy Stewart in the 1939 film, arrives at Congress from an unnamed Western state after the death of an incumbent senator. Initially, he’s unaware of the dishonest actions of some of his new congressional colleagues, and his inexperience leads the press to take advantage of him.