Pelosi mistakenly refers to Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson as 'Don Johnson'
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During her weekly news briefing on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mistakenly referred to Sen. Ron Johnson as "Don Johnson", an actor best known for his role as James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series Miami Vice.
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Pelosi was slamming the Wisconsin Republican and staunch supporter of former president Trump for "taking the lead" in the GOP's response to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, when she was told by reporters she made the mixup.
"Don Johnson, was his first name Don? What is it Ron?," she asked reporters, to which they replied, "No."
Pelosi proceeded to chuckle while correcting herself.
"Senator, let me call him. Not ‘Miami Vice’ or anything like that. Don Johnson" Pelosi said. "Ron Johnson seems to be taking the lead on what the scope would be of how we look at protecting our country from domestic terrorism."
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The slip immediately caught the attention of comedian Chris Redd, who co-stars with Don Johnson and his fellow Saturday Night Live cast member Keenan Thompson in the NBC sitcom "Keenan".
"My dawg @DonJohnson on top of mind of those at the top!," he joked. "Love that."
One Twitter user claimed the move was purposeful, calling Pelosi "the queen of shade."
"She calls the idiot Ron Johnson...Don Johnson...then asks.."whats his name? and makes a reference to Miami Vice!," the user wrote. "Pelosi's shade is legendary!"
Another user agreed that it was a slip of the tongue, but argued that "we all now Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) of Miami Vice was waaaay cooler than any politician."
"He put the bad guys in jail to boot," the user added. "He made five o'clock shadows, no socks, pastel attire, all hot."
Meanwhile, another commenter wrote: "In Pelosi's defense, I'd rather be thinking about Don Johnson too."
Pelosi also called out Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called her proposal to name a Jan. 6 commission to examine the riot "partisan by design."
She argued McConnell was "taking a page out of the book of Senator Johnson."
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During a congressional hearing on Tuesday looking into security failures that allowed the events at the Capitol to transpire, Johnson claimed that the "great majority" of protesters" had a "jovial, friendly, earnest demeanor" and blamed the violence on "plainclothes militants, agent provocateurs, fake Trump protesters, and disciplined uniformed column of attackers."
The comments sparked criticism from Johnson's Democratic and Republican colleagues alike, who said he "spread disinformation so blatantly."
Johnson, who is up for reelection in 2022, was part of a handful of lawmakers who contested the certification of the Electoral College for President Biden in January, and has repeatedly promoted unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 elections.
He has not yet decided on whether he will run for a third term, but Democrat Tom Nelson, the county executive of Outagamie County and a former state lawmaker, announced a bid in October to run against him.
In addition, other names floated as potential challengers to Johnson include Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Attorney General Josh Kaul, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and several members of the legislature.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
