CNN’s Bianna Golodryga – subbing in for Erin Burnett on OutFront — pressed Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) on whether anything about President Donald Trump’s intervention in the Navy review of Eddie Gallagher bothers him.

Ousted Navy Secretary Richard Spencer wrote in an op-ed tonight, “The president has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices.”

Johnson it was surprising to hear Spencer saying he tried to stop the president’s involvement in the case, saying, “There’s a lot of military folks in my district who love the president, they love him as Commander-in-Chief. He’s a bit unconventional, that’s certainly true, but they have a lot of confidence him and that’s a sentiment that’s shared across the military.”

Golodryga asked if this unprecedented step from POTUS doesn’t alarm him at all.

“I think what the president was concerned about in this particular case is the chilling effect that a conviction would have across all of our military fighting forces,” Johnson said, pointing to concerns about how Gallagher’s case was handled.

Last night at his Florida campaign rally, Trump declared, “Just this week, I stuck up for three great warriors against the deep state.”

Golodryga asked Johnson if it’s appropriate for Trump to be labeling his own former Navy Secretary as part of the deep state before saying, “At this point, who isn’t the deep state? It apears that anytime somebody speaks out against the president or in disagreement with the president, they’re labeled the deep state.”

“I didn’t hear him call any names in that clip, and I wasn’t at that rally, but you can gauge by the reaction of the crowd that they support those actions and those activities,” Johnson said. “He supports our men and women in uniform and he’s trying to show that every single day. He’s done it by increasing funding to the military and also defending them, as he said in his own words there, when he believes they’re under assault, and I think that most Americans salute him for that.”

You can watch above, via CNN.

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