Mike Johnson Faces MAGA Fury After Paul Ryan Photo

House Speaker Mike Johnson was smacked with criticism and warning from supporters of former President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement after the congressman was photographed with former House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Ryan, a Republican, served as speaker from 2015 to early January 2019, deciding against a reelection bid in 2018. After working with the ex-president for two years, Ryan left office and began denouncing Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination in the 2024 presidential election.

A photo of Ryan and Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, began circulating on social media Wednesday, triggering an uproar by Trump supporters. The photo shows Ryan and Johnson with their heads down as they descend a staircase in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Jake Sherman, founder of Punchbowl News, first shared the photo on X, formerly Twitter, writing, "NEW —@SpeakerRyan and @SpeakerJohnson just emerged from the speaker's suite together."

Newsweek reached out to Johnson via email and Ryan via online form for comment Thursday.

Conservative actor James Woods, who has been a vocal supporter of Trump, posted to X on Thursday, "Paul Ryan quietly destroyed Trump's presidency by dividing a party that had the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court, all of the power to save this country after eight years of [former President Barack] Obama. He's a one man cancer. What is he doing back anywhere near the seat of government??!!"

Brigitte Gabriel, founder and chair of ACT for America, an anti-Muslim group that has organized rallies in support of Trump, on Thursday said on X: "I don't like seeing Paul Ryan anywhere near the halls of Congress!"

Josh Barnett, an Arizona Republican who unsuccessfully ran an "America First" campaign for a House seat in 2022, wrote on X, "If I were the Speaker of the House, I would have never taken a meeting with RINO Paul Ryan ... this is very concerning."

X user @SweetPeaBell326 warned Johnson to be cautious of Ryan, writing, in part, on Thursday, "Paul Ryan stands for everything Republicans today hate and want replaced. If he's asking you to give Ukraine money without border control, don't listen! He wasn't there to give you a pat on the back but to make sure you follow his instructions. We see through him."

Conservative political commentator Rogan O'Handley who goes by @DC_Draino on X, posted on Thursday, "Speaker Johnson - Here's a quick reminder of why we can't stand Paul Ryan. When Trump won in 2016, he was elected w/a mandate to build the wall. PR did all he could to stop that then he helped us lose our House majority in 2018. He's a backstabbing RINO."

Mike Flynn, retired U.S. Army lieutenant general who served as national security adviser during the early days of the Trump administration, posted to X: "And Paul Ryan still believes he will be the POTUS. He's probably hoping for a wildly contested Republican convention and miraculously he's chosen from the ashes. Sorry Paul, ain't going to happen ... stick to Fox News, another losing cause."

Flynn was pardoned by then-President Trump in 2020 after Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation regarding allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The closest Ryan came to the Oval Office was during the 2012 election when he was the vice presidential nominee on Mitt Romney's ticket. Romney and Ryan lost the election to incumbents Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden.

In November 2022, Ryan blamed Trump for major GOP losses in the midterm elections, calling himself a "Never-Again Trumper" in an interview with Jonathan Karl on ABC's This Week. More recently, on Wednesday, Ryan called Trump an "authoritarian narcissist" while at a virtual event hosted by consulting firm Teneo.