OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, shot back at liberals and the media for mocking his Christian faith.
Johnson, an Evangelical Christian who has publicly invoked his faith in God and said the Bible is his “worldview” since becoming the new speaker, responded to MSNBC host Jen Psaki, HBO host Bill Maher, and others who trashed him for his faith by claiming that the attacks don’t bother him.
“The media wasn’t always so friendly to someone with a Judeo-Christian worldview, and in your case, some of the things that had been said, Politico interviewed a historian about your worldview, and this historian said you’re a Christian nationalist; it comes from that of Christian supremacy,” Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany said to Johnson.
McEnany then quoted Psaki, who ran a segment on MSNBC in which she labeled Johnson as a Christian “fundamentalist.”
“What do you think when you hear that?” McEnany asked.
“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,” Johnson responded.
“I just wish they would get to know me,” he continued, adding, “I’m not trying to establish Christianity as the national religion or something. That’s not what this is about at all.”
He then discussed how the Bible commands us to show peace and love toward all people.
“If you truly believe in the Bible’s commands and seek to follow them, it’s 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,” he said.
McEnany referenced other media attacks against Johnson’s faith, such as the Daily Beast calling Johnson a “Christo-fascist” who seeks to impose his religion on others like the Taliban and the “mullahs in Iran.”
She asked Johnson about HBO host Bill Maher comparing him to the Maine mass murder suspect who is believed to have killed nearly 20 people because he “heard voices.”
Johnson called the comparisons “disgusting.”
“That is absurd,” he said, adding, “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 some deranged shooter who murders people, is absolutely outrageous. And I believe that should offend everyone who adheres to and holds to a Judeo-Christian worldview.
He noted his willingness to face such attacks, saying, “I’m OK; I’ll take the arrows. I understand it comes with leadership, and when you step into the fray, that’s what you take.”
Johnson acknowledged that it bothers him that so many Americans and the ideals that made America great are under attack.
“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,” Johnson said.
WATCH:
Earlier this week, Johnson strongly suggested that GOP-controlled committees would send subpoenas to first son Hunter Biden to compel his testimony as their investigations into his and his father’s suspicious foreign business dealings continue.
In an interview with Maria Bartiromo of Fox News, Johnson was asked about sending subpoenas to Hunter Biden.
“I’m looking at that. I think that desperate times call for desperate measures, and perhaps that is overdue,” he said.
“We’re trying to move forward on some of this very aggressively,” Johnson told Bartiromo. “I think the American people are owed these answers. And I think our suspicions about all this, the evidence that we have gathered so far, as you know, is affirming what many of us feared may be the worst.”
