Mike Johnson declared 2023’s “most disturbing” Christian nationalist

A prominent journalist has labeled House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as “the most disturbing and influential Christian nationalist of 2023.”

In a scathing op-ed, LGBTQ Nation Heroes nominee Melissa Gira Grant urges readers to ask how the nation didn’t see someone like Johnson coming. The anti-LGBTQ+ Christian extremist seemed to come out of nowhere as Republicans scrambled for a new speaker after ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

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Nathaniel Manderson wrote that the most evil among us tend to be those who “loudly claim to be pure and good.”

But Grant says everyone, including herself, should have better been able to anticipate someone like Johnson gaining such an influential position. “Johnson went this long passing as yet another Republican because many of us didn’t pay enough attention to the warnings from those who track the rise of Christian nationalism and who have been deeply troubled by it for a long time,” she writes.

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She added that while he is not the only member of Congress who wants to govern according to “biblical values,” he is “the one most groomed for this role by the Christian right.”

“He spent years moving in secretive circles. He found mentors and future supporters among those on the right who have been pushing the mainstream conservative movement, urging its members to unleash their most extreme tendencies. Johnson was made by those groups and networks; now they have a powerful ally third in the line of presidential succession. They made him powerful, and he owes them.”

Grant then went on to detail the many connections to powerful far-right extremists that got Johnson where he is today. She discussed his membership in the conservative Council for National Policy (CNP), a group dedicated to creating “a united conservative movement,” according to its vision statement. While its members are supposed to be kept secret, leaked membership lists have revealed what Grant describes as “a who’s who of the far- and farther-right.”

Leaked video of Johnson speaking at a CNP meeting reveals that he was mentored by Liberty Counsel founder Matt Staver and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins. Both the Liberty Counsel and the Family Research Council are anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups.

“I was a young lawyer, and I just wanted to learn, and so I followed those guys around,” Johnson said, adding about CNP founder Morton Blackwell, “I’m in Congress primarily because I called him for help and he got me here.” 

“I owe you all so much,” he told the room, which was filled with those whom he called his “biggest heroes.”

Grant ended her piece by saying that Johnson hung a New Apostolic Reformation flag outside his office. The group’s leaders, she explained, “were some of the first on the Christian right to embrace Trump, drawing him into their vision of an America ruled by Christianity.”

Yet, Johnson recently told Fox News, “I’m not trying to establish Christianity as the national religion or something,” using a mocking tone. “That’s not what this is about.”

And when questioned about his anti-LGBTQ+ views, Johnson said that his worldview was, “Go pick up a Bible.”

Johnson’s religion has also fueled his virulent anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs. He has long campaigned against same-sex marriage, claiming it would lead to “pedophiles” seeking legal protections for having sex with kids and people trying to marry their pets. He has also said, “Homosexual relationships are inherently unnatural… ultimately harmful and costly for everyone.”

Grant made headlines this year for uncovering the fictions underlying the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling against LGBTQ+ rights in 303 Creative v. Elenis. Her bombshell revelations that some of the “facts” of the case had been made up cast doubt on the high court’s integrity.