Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, the relatively unknown Congressman from Louisiana around whom Republicans rallied to elect a replacement for former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, is an open Christian who is more than willing to talk about his faith and how it impacts his decision-making, much to the disgust and horror of many on the left.
Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki labeled Johnson a “Christian fundamentalist,” for example, saying, “Most Americans might not be able to pick Mike Johnson out of a lineup, but in reality he’s far from benign. It’s not just his political ideology that should scare us. Johnson is basically a Christian fundamentalist.”
Worse came from other leftists. HBO host Bill Maher compared Johnson to the Maine shooter, saying, “When you’re this much of a religious fanatic, there is no room for real democracy. That’s not what you believe in. He said it today. ‘Look in the Bible. That’s my world view.’ And I was reading about this horrible shooting in Maine. And, you know, we don’t know much about the guy yet, but apparently he heard voices and I thought ‘Is he that different than Mike Johnson?’”
Speaker Johnson fired back when he appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Outnumbered” on Tuesday, telling host Kayleigh McEnany that comments made by those attacking him in such a manner are “disgusting and absurd.”
The two began by discussing what former White House spox Jen Psaki said about Johnson on her MSNBC show, particularly her fearmongering about Speaker Johnson’s faith, with McEnany asking Johson, “What do you think when you hear that?”
Replying, he began by noting that such attacks, however vicious, come with the territory of being a politician and so don’t bother him overly much, saying, “Look, there are entire industries that are built to take down public leaders, effective political leaders like me. I’m not surprised by that, I mean, it comes with the territory — it doesn’t bother me at all.”
Continuing, he added some context to his comments, saying, “I just wish they would get to know me. I’m not trying to establish Christianity as the national religion or something. That’s not what this is about at all. If you truly believe in the Bible’s commands and you seek to follow those, it is impossible to be a hateful person, because the greatest command in the Bible is that you love God with everything you have and you love your neighbor as yourself.”
McEnany then got to the more vicious comments being made about Johnson because of his faith, such as Maher’s comparison of him to the Maine shooter, asking, “What is it like to be compared to the mullahs of Iran, the Taliban, and the Maine shooter?”
Johnson was less understanding and willing to make peace on that front. He said, “It’s just disgusting. I mean, that is absurd. Of course, our religion is based on love and acceptance. So to compare that worldview with the Taliban who seek to destroy their enemies or with, you know, some deranged shooter who murders people, is absolutely outrageous. And I think everyone who follows and believes in a Judeo-Christian worldview should be just terribly offended by that. I’m okay, I’ll take the arrows, I understand it comes with leadership. And when you step into the fray, that’s what you take. But what really hurts me is that it really is a statement about everyone who believes in this that the country was built upon. Our Judeo-Christian foundation is the heritage of our country.”
He later added, “I mean, look, our enemy is like Hamas and terrorists and tyrants who want to do great harm to our country. Someone who is on the other side of the aisle is is a fellow elected representative of the greatest deliberative body in the world. And they should be treated as such. And even if they have crazy ideas, sometimes, you know, part of the process is that I will be willing to engage with them in a dialogue to to forge consensus that will move the ball forward for the most people.”
Watch that interview here:
