Donald Trump Ally Accuses Mike Johnson of Making 'Deals With the Devil'

Rochelle "Silk" Richardson, a Donald Trump ally, accused House Speaker Mike Johnson of making "deals with the devil" on Saturday.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, is negotiating with other congressional leaders to reach a deal to provide funding for Ukraine and Israel amid their ongoing wars with Russia and Hamas respectively, as well as for the U.S-Mexico border. Late last year, President Joe Biden requested Congress to authorize roughly $106 billion in additional aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the southern border, but the package has faced resistance from conservatives who say aid for Ukraine should be separate from funding for the U.S.-Mexico border.

Richardson and her sister Lynette "Diamond" Hardaway first gained traction as Diamond and Silk among conservative circles during the 2016 election cycle after posting a series of social media offerings in support of then-presidential candidate Trump. The duo, who claimed they were Trump's "most loyal supporters" also appeared at several White House events during his presidency and occasionally spoke at his campaign rallies. In January 2023, Hardaway died, with Richardson continuing to post her thoughts on the duo's X, formerly Twitter, account.

On Saturday, Richardson took to the Diamond and Silk account on X to share a video clip of her on FrankSpeech, a social media platform established by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, discussing her thoughts on Johnson, seemingly referring to the spending deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer while also criticizing Biden.

"Silk calls out Mike Johnson back door deals with the devil and [Senator] John Fetterman for trying to pull a fast one. 'Don't Be Fooled,'" a post on the Diamond and Silk account reads.

Newsweek has reached out to Johnson and Diamond and Silk via email for comment.

Johnson and Schumer announced a tentative deal Sunday that would establish an overall spending level of nearly $1.66 trillion in the 2024 fiscal year. The proposed plan reflects the deal struck by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year—the same deal that ultimately led to his ousting in the fall. However, Johnson faces critics from hardline Republicans arguing that the topline figure undercuts conservative objectives and have openly threatened to introduce another motion to vacate that could remove Johnson from his post.

In the clip, Richardson criticized Johnson's efforts by calling out the spending deal, along with Biden and other Democrats, adding that Republicans have the power to shut the deal down.

"Mike Johnson who is supposed to be the Republican House speaker from my understanding is still making back door deals with the Democrats. Why should the Republican-led House have to make a deal with the devil just to protect America? You shouldn't have to bribe Jim Crow Joe Biden into following the laws that are in the book. And because the Republicans, you have the power of the purse. You can shut it all down," she said.

In addition, Richardson alleged on Saturday that Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, knew there was a border security problem years ago when Biden came into office.

"He knew we had a border problem when Biden got in a few years ago. Now he is going to wait until now to act like he has some compassion and some concern about the border being open," Richardson said.

Fetterman told NBC News in an article published last month that "immigration is something near and dear to me, and I think we do have to effectively address it, as well."

He added: "It's a reasonable conversation—until somebody can say there's an explanation on what we can do when 270,000 people are being encountered on the border, not including the ones, of course, that we don't know about. To put that in reference, that is essentially the size of Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in Pennsylvania."

Meanwhile, Johnson and 60 other Republican lawmakers toured the border earlier this month in Eagle Pass, Texas, and spoke with local and state officials about how to remedy what has become a wide-ranging crisis.

There were more than 2.4 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. Republicans say the uptick in migrants is a direct result of Biden's border policies, which they say incentivize illegal immigration. Other experts, however, say other factors including political and financial instability in some Central American countries drive migration to the U.S.

Richardson's comments come after Diamond and Silk supported several conspiracy theories, including one early in April 2021 when the pair suggested someone other than Biden was actually in charge of the executive branch.

Diamond and Silk were also temporarily suspended from their then-Twitter account in 2020 after spreading false information about COVID-19 as their claims went against guidance outlined by the Trump administration at the time. Their coronavirus conspiracy claims eventually led them to be ousted from making their regular appearances on Fox News' online streaming service, Fox Nation.