Newly elected Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., responded to liberals and those in the media trashing him for his Christian faith Tuesday.
Johnson, an Evangelical Christian who has proudly invoked his faith in God and said the Bible is his "worldview" since being elected as the new speaker, responded to MSNBC host Jen Psaki, HBO host Bill Maher and others who trashed him for his faith, saying the attacks don’t bother him.
"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' Kayleigh McEnany said to Johnson.
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She then quoted Psaki labeling 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 to show peace and love towards all people.
"If you truly believe in the Bible’s commands, and you seek to follow those, it’s impossible to be a hateful person, because the greatest command in the Bible is that you love God with everything you had, and you love your neighbor as yourself," he said.
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McEnany brought up other media attacks against Johnson’s faith, including 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 him about HBO host Bill Maher's comments where he compared Johnson to the mass shooter suspected of killing nearly 20 people in Maine because the shooter also "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 think that everyone who follows and believes in a Judeo-Christian worldview should be just terribly offended by that."
He noted his willingness to face such attacks, saying, "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."
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He admitted it does bother him in the way such attacks go after many people in the country and the principles that shaped America.
"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.
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