Trump Lashes Out at Johnson Over Ukraine Deal Leak, as GOP Factions Clash on Live TV in Escalating Party Rift

By Jonathan Weisman and Catie Edmondson Washington — Nov. 30, 2025

President Donald J. Trump, whose second-term grip on the Republican Party has shown early cracks amid policy setbacks, unleashed a blistering attack on House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday, accusing him of leaking details of a secret Ukraine peace plan that hard-liners branded a “surrender to Putin.” The outburst, delivered in a midday Truth Social tirade and amplified during a chaotic Fox News appearance, has plunged the G.O.P. into open civil war, with MAGA stalwarts like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene demanding Mr. Johnson’s ouster and moderates like Sen. Lindsey Graham warning of a “catastrophic fracture” that could doom the party’s 2026 midterm hopes. As top Republicans publicly turn against Mr. Trump’s foreign policy improvisations, the episode — unfolding live on national television — has exposed the fragility of his coalition, sending shockwaves through a Congress already paralyzed by shutdown recriminations.

The fuse ignited late Saturday when a draft of Mr. Trump’s 28-point Ukraine proposal — circulated among a tight circle of aides and congressional leaders — leaked to The Washington Post. The document, hammered out by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and initialed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, called for freezing front lines, recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and capping U.S. aid at $10 billion annually in exchange for a 10-year nonaggression pact. Critics within the party, including fiscal hawks and Ukraine supporters, decried it as “garbage” that would leave Kyiv vulnerable and embolden Moscow, echoing Mr. Trump’s first-term Helsinki summit with Vladimir V. Putin.

Mr. Trump, vacationing at Mar-a-Lago, zeroed in on Mr. Johnson as the culprit, posting at 11:47 a.m.: “Leaky Mike Johnson, the so-called SPEAKER, just BLEW UP our GREAT Ukraine deal with his DISLOYAL mouth! He’s no MAGA — he’s a RINO puppet. RESIGN NOW or face the wrath! America First means WINNING, not WHINING!” The accusation, viewed over 18 million times by evening, blindsided Mr. Johnson, who had been looped in during a Nov. 24 call with Mr. Trump and Mr. Rubio to gauge House support. In a frantic response on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” the speaker fired back live on air, his voice cracking with rare fury: “Mr. President, I’ve been your strongest ally — from the wall to the shutdown fight. But leaking classified talks to sabotage peace? That’s not leadership; it’s chaos. If this plot’s blowing up, look in the mirror.” The exchange, which devolved into crosstalk with host Maria Bartiromo struggling to mediate, drew 4.2 million viewers and trended under #GOPCivilWar, blending clips of the spat with memes of Mr. Trump as a crumbling emperor.

The live-TV meltdown has crystallized a brewing schism within the Republican ranks, pitting Mr. Trump’s improvisational deal-making against institutionalists wary of his unilateralism. Hard-line MAGA figures, reeling from Ms. Greene’s abrupt resignation last week over stalled Epstein file declassifications, rallied to the president’s side. Ms. Greene, now a private citizen, hijacked the Fox segment via X, posting: “MAGA Mike? More like Meek Mike! He’s turning on Trump just like he did us. Time for a REAL speaker — or we walk.” Her call, echoed by Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, has garnered 150,000 likes and signatures on a nascent “Dump Johnson” petition circulating among Freedom Caucus members. Mr. Gaetz, in a Newsmax interview, accused Mr. Johnson of “backchanneling to the deep state” to protect his gavel amid the House’s 219-216 majority, now teetering after three recent G.O.P. retirements tied to shutdown burnout.

Moderates and foreign policy veterans, however, have swung against Mr. Trump, viewing the Ukraine plan as a betrayal of Reagan-era anti-Russia orthodoxy. Sen. Graham, a onetime Trump confidant, broke ranks during a CBS “Face the Nation” appearance, declaring: “This isn’t America First — it’s Putin First. Donald, you’re my friend, but this garbage plan hands Ukraine to the bear. Johnson’s right to push back; we need unity, not vendettas.” His words, a seismic defection from the MAGA fold, drew applause from Democrats and rebukes from Trump allies like Sen. J.D. Vance, the vice president, who tweeted: “Lindsey’s lost his spine — again. Trump’s deals end wars; critics end careers.” Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a decorated veteran whose district borders Ukraine aid beneficiaries, joined the fray on CNN, calling the leak “inevitable karma” for a proposal that “sells out our allies for a photo op.”

The “secret plot,” as Mr. Trump dubbed it in his post, was meant to be his foreign policy crown jewel — a quick-win peace to contrast with President Biden’s “endless quagmire.” Initial drafts, per sources familiar with the talks, envisioned Rubio reining in Witkoff’s more concessions-heavy ideas, incorporating Ukrainian and European input for optics. But the leak, which The Post attributed to “a senior House official,” has torpedoed negotiations: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen canceled a Dec. 5 Brussels summit, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a terse X rebuke: “Peace isn’t partition — it’s justice.” Markets dipped 1.2 percent Monday, with defense stocks like Lockheed Martin tumbling on aid cap fears.

Behind the scenes, the White House is in damage-control overdrive. Chief of Staff Susie Wiles convened an emergency call with G.O.P. leaders Sunday night, where Mr. Johnson reportedly demanded a public retraction and veto-proof Ukraine funding in the next CR. “Trump’s fury is real, but so is the revolt — we’re one motion to vacate from minority status,” one leadership aide said anonymously. Polling from a Republican firm, leaked to Axios, shows Mr. Trump’s internal party approval slipping to 58 percent, with Ukraine hawks in the Midwest and Sun Belt — key 2026 battlegrounds — citing the spat as a “betrayal.”

Democrats, long spectators to G.O.P. infighting, are reveling in the spectacle. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., quipped on MSNBC: “Trump vs. Johnson, Greene vs. everybody — this civil war’s better than Netflix. Pass the popcorn; we’ll take the House in ’26.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., seized the moment to schedule a Wednesday vote on $60 billion in uncut Ukraine aid, betting it could lure enough Republicans to embarrass the White House. “MAGA’s crumbling from within — Trump’s attacks are the accelerant,” Mr. Schumer said in a floor speech.

For Mr. Johnson, 53, the assault is existential. Elected speaker after 15 ballots of turmoil in January, he has balanced Mr. Trump’s bombast with pragmatic governance, from averting a second shutdown to threading the needle on Israel aid amid party rifts. But Sunday’s eruption has emboldened dissidents: At least 12 Freedom Caucus members have pledged support for a vacate motion if Mr. Trump doesn’t walk back his “RINO” slur. “Mike’s fighting for survival — Trump’s fighting for ego,” said Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., an appropriator who joined the moderates’ chorus.

The live-TV ignition has broader echoes of G.O.P. implosions past: Gingrich’s 1998 resignation over internal strife, Boehner’s 2015 exit under tea-party fire. “Trump’s power was always personal, not institutional — now it’s crumbling under its own weight,” said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton political historian. On X, the platform Mr. Trump favors, #MagaCivilWar exploded with 2.1 million mentions, from Greene’s rallying cries to Graham’s dissent clips.

As the holiday weekend closes, Mr. Trump retreated to golf, but the embers smolder. Aides float a “unity briefing” for Tuesday, with Mr. Rubio as peacemaker. Yet with the House majority on a knife’s edge and midterms looming, the fury isn’t just personal — it’s perilous. In a party forged in Trump’s fire, attacking the speaker isn’t rebellion; it’s roulette. For Republicans, the gamble is clear: Win the war, or lose the peace.