House Speaker Mike Johnson, who was elected to the position by the lower congressional chamber in October, referred to abortion as an “American holocaust” and said that the health care group Planned Parenthood sees people living in cities as “easy prey.”
The comments and others that have recently garnered attention come from interview segments Johnson gave over the years.
“It is truly an American holocaust,” Johnson said while speaking about abortion in May of last year. “I mean, the reality is that Planned Parenthood and all these big abortion, they set up their clinics in inner cities. They are, you know, they regard these people as easy prey. I mean it’s true. This is what’s happening across the country now.”
In one clip, Johnson asserted that humans are “inherently evil” and said it is the government’s responsibility to restrain their behavior.
“One of the primary purposes of the law in civil government is to restrain evil,” Johnson said in 2010.
“We have to acknowledge collectively that man is inherently evil and needs to be restrained. That’s– see, that’s the problem with the radical left. They don’t acknowledge a God.”
According to US media, which played some clips and described others, Johnson also highlighted his opposition to same-sex couples adopting children and argued that homosexuality was a "behavior" which made it not protected under anti-discrimination laws.
One clip showed Johnson defending Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ suggestion that the Supreme Court reconsider several landmark cases the same day the high court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending federal abortion protections.
At the time, Thomas wrote a concurring opinion in the case that stated the court should reconsider Griswold v. Connecticut, which established the right to contraception; Lawrence v. Texas, which legalized same-sex intercourse; and Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage.
Johnson said that Thomas’ opinion “is not radical,” calling it “the opposite of that.” However, his office has since clarified that he believes those cases to be “settled law.”
In one clip, Johnson asserts that humans are “inherently evil” and said it is the government’s responsibility to restrain their behavior.
“One of the primary purposes of the law in civil government is to restrain evil,” Johnson said in 2010. “We have to acknowledge collectively that man is inherently evil and needs to be restrained. That’s– see, that’s the problem with the radical left. They don’t acknowledge a God.”
The various clips gained renewed attention after being compiled for an investigative piece intended to highlight Johnson's beliefs and past remarks in the face of his quick rise to the House leadership.