Mike Johnson says Trump's R-word comment 'not the word I would choose'
Johnson said he would not have chosen Trump's word but suggested the president reacted spontaneously to reports of fraud.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Yahoo News, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
The article is attributed to a USA TODAY reporter and identifies USA TODAY as its original publication, indicating reporting by an established national newsroom. The text provides named speakers and attributed quotations, though the page offers limited evidence about corrections practices.
- Source type — The reporting is attributed to USA TODAY, an established national news organization.
- Author attribution — A named USA TODAY reporter is credited, with an additional contributor identified.
- Transparency — The page identifies the original publication and attributes key claims and quotations to speakers.
The report uses named speakers and direct quotations and includes responses from Johnson, Trump and Walz. It provides little independent corroboration or context for the reported fraud estimate and does not include disability advocates’ perspective beyond noting their opposition to use of the slur.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article presents Johnson’s response, Trump’s remarks and Walz’s criticism, but does not independently assess the fraud claims or include a direct disability advocate’s perspective.
- Counterarguments presented — Reports Johnson’s explanation, Trump’s defense of his remarks and Walz’s criticism.
- Source diversity — Includes statements from three political figures, but few independent sources.
- Omitted context — The fraud estimate and related allegations receive little independent verification or response.
- Loaded language — The report identifies the term as a slur and generally attributes other charged characterizations to speakers.
The report uses largely descriptive language and attributes its critical statements to the speakers. Its descriptions of Trump’s comments as a slur and his later remarks as doubling down do not, on their own, establish a discernible partisan lean.
- Language tone — Mostly factual wording, with evaluative characterizations attributed to speakers.
- Source selection — Includes comments from Johnson, Trump and Walz, but little independent expert or community reaction.
- Framing — Centers on Johnson’s response to Trump’s remark and also reports Trump’s and Walz’s statements.
Republished with credit
Republished from USA Today, with credit to the original publisher.
21 stories · 79–81 · updated Oct 11, 2026
This is USA Today's own score, and this article is credited to USA Today. The host score in the Source Check is Yahoo News's.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said President Donald Trump’s use of a slur for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was “not the word I would choose,” while suggesting Trump reacted to alleged fraud in Minnesota. Walz condemned Trump’s language and remarks about the state’s Somali community.
On Dec. 2, Johnson told reporters he would not have chosen Trump’s word, but said Trump’s reaction was probably spontaneous amid reports of fraud in Minnesota. Johnson attributed an estimate of as much as $2 billion to Rep. Tom Emmer and said Congress and the administration had an obligation to investigate. The article describes the word as a slur and says disability advocates seek to end its use.
Walz condemned Trump’s use of the slur and his characterization of Minnesota’s Somali community, calling the language “damaging.” Trump had also defended his comments to reporters, saying there was “something wrong” with Walz. The article reports that Trump ordered federal officials to reexamine green cards issued to people from 19 countries, including Somalia.
Community verdict
12 VOTESCounts every outlet’s report of this story. See all 2
Votes cast on this page
Votes cast on this page: ▲ 5 · ◆ 1 · ▼ 6
People in this story
SWIPE →Minnesota governor criticized by Trump who condemned Trump's language
Walz's version of this story ↗President whose use of a slur and remarks about Walz are discussed
Trump's version of this story ↗Minnesota Republican congressman cited as the source of the fraud estimate
Part of a bigger story
2 OUTLETS- ARTICLES
- 2
- OUTLETS
- 2
- AVG CRED
- 79
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