Utah Sen. Mike Lee, using a nasally voice and hand gestures, imitated former President Donald Trump during a speech at The Federalist Society’s 2022 National Lawyers Convention in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
During his remarks, Lee said that the former president “loves” talking to his wife Sharon, and that “he thinks she’s great, which of course, she is.” He went on to recall a time when he was with Trump at the White House, and Trump had asked Lee a specific question about the interaction between the Constitution and the Senate rules.
[Read: What can Utahns expect from Mike Lee as he heads back to Washington?]
Lee told the former president that he would need a few hours to consult with lawyers to get the answer to his question.
“He said ‘That’s fine, you can do that, go talk to Johnny [McEntee],’” Lee said in a Trump-like voice while gesturing with his hands. “This is Johnny McEntee, head of the office of presidential personnel.”
After a few hours, Lee said he had the answer to Trump’s question and went back to explain it to him.
“It was a really boring, archaic question. He sees me coming back in, ‘Oh good, I’ve been waiting, come on in,” Lee mimicked in a nasally impression. “He starts pulling people in ‘Pence, Meadows, Kellyanne, come on in — Mike’s got an answer for us.’”
Lee then outlines his solution, which he said took about 15 minutes to explain to Trump.
“I was really proud of myself, and I was thinking he was just going to bare his heart out to me,” Lee said. “Instead he goes, ‘Mike, when the rest of us were 16, we were out chasing girls and doing crazy, crazy stuff. But then I think about you — at 16, you’re not doing that Mike. You’re at home, sitting at a desk, and you’re studying the Senate rules and the constitution. Am I right?’”
Lee, chuckling with the conservative crowd, said that was an accurate description. But told Trump he did meet Sharon while in school.
“He goes ‘Yeah, good point. I knew it, I knew that was you,’” Lee said. “And then he turns around and he says to all the staff, and this is the critical part — ‘And yet, he has a beautiful wife. I don’t understand.’”
The senator’s whole speech can be seen on C-SPAN: Sen. Mike Lee and Others Discuss the Law and Legal Precedent
Lee was not always supportive of the former president.
In 2016, Lee voted against the Republican nominee, instead casting his ballot for then-independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin.
Four years later, Lee did back Trump, going as far as comparing Trump to Book of Mormon hero Captain Moroni at a rally in Arizona just days before the 2020 presidential election.
This week, Lee won reelection to the Senate and will represent Utahns for a third term in Washington. He beat McMullin in what was the closest and most expensive Senate race Utah has seen in decades.
