Nancy Pelosi says she respects Mike Johnson and hopes Trump isn’t ‘his puppeteer’ [Video]

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she respects Speaker Mike Johnson even if she strongly disagrees with his politics, a sign that the top Republican holds some sway with congressional Democrats.

Pelosi did offer one potential qualm amid her muted praise for the speaker who is facing potential ouster due to efforts led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican.

“I hope that what is said about Donald Trump being his puppeteer is not true,” Pelosi, who Democrats formally declared as their Speaker Emerita, told the Atlantic as part of a lengthy profile on Johnson.

Pelosi’s words are a stark contrast to how she viewed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Californian. As The New York Times once pointed out, Pelosi publicly called him a moron while McCarthy got in trouble for joking about hitting her with the speaker’s gavel.

The former speaker told The Atlantic that she viewed Johnson as “a person of integrity,” adding …