Trump’s ‘Secret’ With Mike Johnson Is Backup Plan if He Loses: Congressman

New York Representative Dan Goldman is raising alarms about former President Donald Trump‘s “secret” with House Speaker Mike Johnson.

After a lineup of polarizing speakers in Madison Square Garden Sunday night, Trump revealed during his speech that he and the Republican House leader have a “little secret” that is “having a big impact,” telling his rallygoers in Manhattan, “we will tell you what it is when the race is over.”

Neither Trump nor Johnson have elaborated on the comment since, but it has sparked concern among Democrats and other critics of the former president, who have warned that Trump is planning on contesting the 2024 election if he loses to Vice President Kamala Harris.

In an appearance on CNN early Monday morning, Goldman, a Democrat representing New York’s 10th Congressional District, said he suspects Trump’s secret could involve a “backup plan for when he loses” in November. He pointed to the former president’s efforts to undermine Congress‘ certification of the 2020 presidential election four years ago.

“Now you wonder—why did Donald Trump come to New York nine days before the election?” Goldman said during his appearance on CNN This Morning. He said that the state of New York, a Democratic stronghold, is likely going to Harris.

“The answer is that the house really runs through New York,” Goldman added. “There are seven races that could go either way in the House, and that will likely determine the majority.”

“And make no mistake, the House, we get sworn in on January 3,” the congressman continued. “On January 6, the certification of the Electoral College will happen again, and we, as we know from 2021, whoever is in control of the House, of Congress, will be able to have a lot of say on what happens on January 6.

“And I suspect—we don’t know—but I suspect Donald Trump’s little secret plan with Mike Johnson is a backup plan for when he loses, and he tries to go to the House of Representatives to throw out the Electoral College.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign via email for comment.

There has been widespread speculation that Trump could attempt to interfere in the 2024 election results, similar to how he and his allies attempted to do in 2020. Polling has also found that a large portion of Americans are concerned about potential violent attempts to overturn the election results in November, a reflection of the riots that hundreds of Trump supporters staged on the U.S. Capitol building on the day Congress certified President Joe Biden‘s win.

Johnson was among the lawmakers in 2020 who pushed Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud. On January 6, 2021, he also voted against certifying the 2020 election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania—both of which were won by Biden.

In a statement published by the New York Times on Monday, Johnson said he planned to keep his and Trump’s “secret” concealed. Instead, he pointed a finger at Harris, accusing her of keeping secrets about Biden’s physical and mental health.

“It appears that all those secrets didn’t matter to the media because they all helped Democrats,” the speaker added. “But this one might help Donald Trump, and now they care? By definition, a secret is not to be shared—and I don’t intend to share this one.”

When asked what the “little secret” comment meant, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told the Times that Trump “has done countless tele-rallies reaching millions of Americans across the country in key regions that also help bolster Republicans in congressional races.”

Polling forecasters, including FiveThirtyEight, have predicted that the GOP will hold onto control of the House after November, although the race for control is tight. Democrats are also at risk of losing their slim majority in the Senate, although election predictions for the upper chamber of Congress remain razor-thin.