U.S. Speaker Mike Johnson Gives Keynote Speech at Tennessee GOP Dinner

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) served as the keynote speaker at the Tennessee Republican Party’s 2025 Statesmen’s Dinner on August 23, celebrating the return of the party to national power and warning of the potential loss of power ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The 48th annual event was themed "Tennessee's Golden Age," a reference to President Trump’s opening line of his 2025 inauguration speech, “the Golden Age of America begins right now.”

Johnson reiterated what he argued is the need to ensure the role of God in government, invoking God some 24 times in his approximately 30-minute speech.

“Our freedom comes from God, and our responsibility ultimately is to him,” Johnson said. “It transcends the civil authorities. It goes to our creator himself, my friends. That's the birth certificate of your nation. You cannot forget it.”

While Johnson’s remarks were largely celebratory in nature, with an emphasis on Trump’s signature legislation, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” he also warned about the pending political fight as the 2026 midterm elections inch closer.

“They'll bring our America First agenda to a grinding halt,” Johnson said of the threat of a Democratic Party majority in the already slim GOP-controlled House, warning that Democrats will impeach Trump if they can, all as redistricting battles are underway in Texas, California and other states.

“These people have gone far, far to the left,” Johnson said, alleging that “the Democrats have nominated a full-fledged Marxist to the mayor of New York City,” a reference to Zohran Mamdani, a self-described Democratic Socialist who won the city’s Democratic Party mayoral primary in June.

“That's the future of the Democratic Party, but cannot be the future of America,” Johnson said. “We simply cannot let them win, and we won't.”

Other speakers included Gov. Bill Lee; 2026 gubernatorial candidate U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, State GOP Party Chair Scott Golden, and U.S. Reps. Diana Harshbarger, Tim Burchett, Chuck Fleischmann, Scott DesJarlais, Andy Ogles and David Kustoff, as well as state Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, and state Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter who served as the dinner’s chairman.

The event saw a slew of award winners, including the recognition of District 70 State Rep. Clay Doggett (R-Pulaski) as Legislator of the Year, and the presentation of the Howard Baker Award to former U.S. Rep. Bill Jenkins (1997–2007).

Johnson closed out his remarks with a selfie video message for President Trump in which he said:

“Mr. President, this is the Tennessee Republican Party and 1,700 of your biggest supporters here,” Johnson said. “We are celebrating tonight Tennessee's golden age and America's golden age, and we want you to know one thing: we have your back, we're going to win in 2026, and Tennessee’s going to do it huge.”