Stephanie Ruhle reacts ‘are you kidding me?’ after Johnson says women can’t ‘compartmentalize’

WASHINGTON, DC: On Saturday, December 6 edition of 'The 11th Hour', MS NOW Stephanie Ruhle reacted with disbelief to comments made by House Speaker Mike Johnson and his wife, Kelly Johnson, about the way men and women think. Their remarks suggested that women’s brains are inherently different — and inferior — when it comes to mental “compartmentalization.”

Mike Johnson and Kelly Johnson defend their remarks on men and women’s thinking

The comments came from a November 26, 2025 interview with Katie Miller on the 'Katie Miller Podcast.' During the conversation, Mike Johnson claimed, “men and women are different in this way, is that men can compartmentalize things.” Kelly Johnson expanded on that analogy by comparing men’s brains to waffles, saying they work in neat boxes that allow them to focus on one thing at a time.

“They have little compartments, and they can think on one little compartment at a time and close it. And men actually have a compartment that has nothing in it,” she said. She added that when a man says he is thinking about “nothing,” he genuinely means it — a point Mike Johnson nodded along to.

Katie Miller later asked whether Mike Johnson’s earlier comment about thinking often about the Roman Empire fit into these “compartments.” Mike Johnson referenced Braveheart and Gladiator as his two favorite movies, saying he uses their themes in conversations with Republicans, and joked that he has “a whole compartment” for the Roman Empire.

By contrast, Kelly Johnson said women supposedly cannot compartmentalize. She described women’s minds as “spaghetti,” explaining that women are “always thinking” and can’t separate thoughts into tidy boxes the way men supposedly do.

Stephanie Ruhle reacts strongly to Mike Johnson and Kelly Johnson’s claims

After the clip aired, Ruhle could not hide her disbelief. She opened with a prayer: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” She then repeated, “Are you kidding me? I mean, are you kidding me?” before stressing the seriousness of the comments, given that they came from the Speaker of the House.

Ruhle said the remarks reflect what many women in Congress — including Republicans — have privately voiced about Johnson’s leadership. “These women in Congress feel like they are being treated less than because of his views,” she said.

She added that she does not interact with Johnson personally, but that watching the interview made her question whether those concerns from female lawmakers might be justified.

Mike Johnson has long said that his worldview is rooted in his reading of the Bible, and when he became Speaker in 2023, he said he “makes no apologies for it.”