Jake Tapper couldnt get a straight answer from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) when he asked him Donald Trump s recent rally riff about golfer Arnold Palmers penis on Sundays episode of State of the Union.

During a rally in Palmers Pennsylvania hometown on Saturday, the former president went on a 10-minute ramble which ended with him praising the PGA legends intimate anatomy.

The CNN host reminded Johnson that election day is rapidly approaching and asked if voters really wanted to hear about Palmers private parts as the Republicans closing message.

Johnson skirted Tappers question, telling him the real issue is if voters are better off now than back when Trump was in office.

Look at the record of these two candidates, he said. This shouldnt be about personalities. It should be about policy.

Though the speaker tried to deflect, Tapper pressed on.

Im sure that you think that a policy debate would be better than a personality debate, but if President Biden had gone onstage and spoke about the size of a pro golfers penis, I think you would be on this show right now saying you were shocked and appalled, and you would suggest it was evidence of his cognitive decline, he told Johnson.

I know you want to talk about policy, and I respect that, Tapper continued, pivoting back to concerns about Trumps fitness, his acuity and his stability.

Again, he asked Johnson, Why is he talking about Arnold Palmers penis in front of Pennsylvania voters?

After a bit of back and forth, Johnson reluctantly relented.

Ill address it. Let me answer it. OK. Dont say it again, the clearly uncomfortable speaker told Tapper, before dismissing the Palmer penis comments as mere lines in a rally.

You can cherry pick a few words or lines out of a two-hour event, he later added, then criticizing Democratic candidate Kamala Harris communication style as word salads.

We all know that the facts, the American people see it and, you know, the media can pick it apart, but people are going to vote, the Louisiana legislator went on. Theyre going to vote whats best for their family. And they see that in Trump.

Elsewhere in the interview, Johnson tried to downplay Trumps recent comments about considering deploying the military against a Democratic enemy within.

Painting Trump as the victim, he called the former president the most attacked, maligned political figure in U.S. history and said he was only suggesting the National Guard be used to keep peace in our streets.

Look, Trump is talking about restoring law and order, the speaker said, going on to characterize the Republicans comments as social media banter and fun language.

Watch Johnson and Tappers exchange above. The conversation about the Palmer comments begins around the three-minute mark.