Mike Johnson (who is definitely not on Grindr) demonstrated just how disingenuous he is — and how gullible his followers can be — when he took to the podium to both criticize Americans planning to take part in the October 18th “No Kings” rallies and claim that Republicans have somehow restored freedom of speech.
Think about that: an elected official boasting about defending free expression while mischaracterizing peaceful protesters as “Hamas supporters” and labeling their events as “Hate America” rallies.
After public backlash, Johnson was forced to go on the defensive — yet remained completely unapologetic.
Let’s review what has actually happened under Mike Johnson’s so-called “leadership”:
- The President of the United States allegedly pressured a CBS into cancelling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – the top-rated late night show – in order to gain approval planned corporate merger to go through.
Sources: New York Times, - FCC Chairman Brendan Carr allegedly pressured Disney into taking Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air, allegedly threatening to withhold the broadcast licenses of their affiliates.
Source: NBC News - The Department of Defense has muzzled press freedom by demanding that reporters publish only “official” Pentagon-approved news.
Source: The Independent - Secretary of Education Linda McMahon attempted to create the Compact for Academic Excellence in American Universities in attempt to tie federal funding to speech restrictions in order to get preferential access to federal funding. Several major top research institutions rejected it, citing the restrictions it would impose on freedom of speech.
Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology - The President has called for the prosecution and jailing of Americans who burn the U.S. Flag – an act upheld the Supreme Court has upheld as constitutionally protected speech.
Source: The White House - Federal authorities have detained and deported individuals with valid student Visas for participating in protests.
Source: The BBC - The rights of protesters have been targeted by demands that demonstrators be banned from wearing masks in order to assist with identification (“doxing”) them
Source: The Hill - ICE officers have been permitted to fire “non-lethal” ammunition against nonviolent protestors – resulting in an incident where a pastor was shot in the forehead with pepper balls.
Source: CNN
Taken together, these actions show that no honest person could claim freedom of speech has expanded under Mike Johnson’s watch.
But, look who is talking!
The only types of “speech” that seem to have grown freer are the most disturbing ones::
- Members of several Young Republican chapters have felt emboldened to post messages such as “I love Hitler,” “I’m ready to watch people burn now,” and “Everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber,” along with a flood of sexist, racist, and homophobic slurs.
Source: Newsweek, Politico - Neo-Nazi groups have reemerged, with one member celebrating Trump’s re-election by saying:“Be ready to cash out the next four years… Get the bag, infiltrate existing institutions, build new ones while we have breathing room, and tear down anything leftist.”
Source: The Guardian - Meanwhile, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) saw its budget and staff slashed — reportedly as retaliation for combating foreign disinformation — effectively empowering adversaries to spread propaganda more freely.
Source: Cybersecurity Dive, Politico,
In short: the Johnson era has not been about defending free speech — it’s been about weaponizing it.