“It Would Take the Country Back More Than a Half-Century.”: Speaker Mike Johnson Compares Abortion to the Holocaust

William FurneyDec 1, 2023

Minute Read

The new House speaker, Mike Johnson, has sparked controversy with unearthed comments he made comparing abortion to the holocaust.

Review of Interviews

Cable news channel CNN conducted a review of interviews the right-wing Louisiana congressman gave to various media outlets in the past, to find out what his overall views were.

Abortion a ‘Holocaust’

CNN said it discovered a clip from a Washington radio show that Johnson, a Republican, appeared on in May last year, and where he was asked for his views on abortion. He replied: “It is truly an American holocaust.”

The holocaust was the genocide of Jews during World War II in which around 6 million were killed by Nazi Germany.

Roe v. Wade Overturned

The politician’s comments came shortly before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, in June last year, ending the constitutional right of women across the country to terminate a pregnancy.

Johnson ‘Delighted’ by Supreme Court Decision

Editorial credit: lev radin/Shutterstock.

Speaking on the ToddCast Podcast, which specializes in comedy interviews, Johnson said he was thrilled by the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade and suggested the highest court in the land do more to “clean up” the country, according to the clip the CNN found.

Supreme Court ‘Mess’

Johnson said on the podcast, of the Supreme Court: “There’s been some really bad law made. They’ve made a mess of our jurisprudence in this country for the last several decades.”

Over 100 Johnson Interviews

CNN said it reviewed more than 100 interviews Johnson gave to media organizations in recent years, both as a lawmaker and also as an attorney, before he became a House representative.

Johnson’s Overall Views

The speaker’s general views, based on his interests, said CNN, were that he was in favor of jailing doctors who carried out abortions after six weeks, supported criminalizing gay sex and wanted the Ten Commandments on show at public buildings. He also supported students at public schools studying the Bible and wanted to abolish laws relating to anti-hate crimes.

Johnson: People ‘Are Evil’

CNN also found a radio interview that Speaker Johnson gave in 2010 in which he said laws were meant to “restrain evil.” He added: “We have to acknowledge collectively that man is inherently evil and needs to be restrained.”

A ‘Radical’ Speaker

Editorial credit: Allen J.M. Smith / Shutterstock.

Legal experts have branded Johnson, 51, a potential danger to the United States. Norm Eisen of the conservative Brookings Institute told CNN that “Speaker Johnson embraces a view that is not only outside of the mainstream but is so radical … that even the extremely conservative Supreme Court majority isn’t willing to go there. It would take the country back more than a half-century.”

Public Reaction

Commenting on X, formerly Twitter, to CNN’s trove of Johnson interviews, one person said: “You can’t compare abortion to the Holocaust; since 1979 over 300 million abortions have been performed. This is worldwide and that’s almost the entire population of the United States.”

‘Odd Government Twist’

Another X user said: “Johnson says one of the primary purposes of governments ‘is to restrain evil’ and that ‘man is inherently evil.’ That’s an odd twist on government. Dangerous even.”

‘Wrong Statement’

Someone else on X offered: “Just a comment on one of the statements, If we are inherently evil, and we are all children of God, that means that God’s children are inherently evil. Going back to my childhood catechism, that statement is wrong in both Protestant and Catholic doctrine.”

Trump Speaker Support

Editorial credit: Evan El-Amin / Shutterstock.

Former president Trump, who is again seeking the presidency, congratulated Johnson for being elected by House members as speaker, and even claimed he played a pivotal role in his success in clinching the role, after the former speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted in an historic vote.

Speaker-Trump Meeting

Editorial credit: Anton Garin / Shutterstock.

Johnson met with Trump at the latter’s Mar-a-Lago resort home this week, ABC News reported, citing sources who knew about the meeting. It was the first such encounter between the pair since Johnson won the speaker role.

Johnson’s 2020 Trump Support

Editorial credit: No-Mad / Shutterstock.

The new speaker had been instrumental in helping Trump to stay in power after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, backing Trump’s claim that the election was “rigged” and “stolen” — a false claim that Trump continues to make.

Speaker’s 2020 Rationale

Johnson claimed that Biden did not win the 2020 ballot because voting in some states was changed during the covid-19 pandemic but without the approval of lawmakers in various states. Trump has been indicted for allegedly trying to overturn the result of the 2020 election, after which deadly rioting broke out on Capitol Hill when Trump called on his supporters to turn up and protest.