House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) doubled down Sunday on his support for a GOP candidate who has called children "c-- trophies" and embraced "Nazi imagery" online, claiming Brandon Herrara is the "common sense" choice.
Johnson brushed off questions from CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday about his endorsement of Herrera by insisting the content was just "his persona online.”
Herrera is the GOP nominee in a race to represent Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, having narrowly lost the GOP primary in 2024 by just over 400 votes. Before entering politics, Herrera was a prominent online influencer known for controversial remarks, including joking about veteran suicide and voicing support for the Confederacy.
“Brandon Herrera, before he started becoming a congressional candidate, he’s a YouTuber, and he has said some offensive, sexually explicit, crude things about women and children,” Tapper said before playing a clip of Herrera calling children “c-- trophies.”
“He’s also in a video testing a Nazi-era sub-machine gun, he called it the ‘original ghetto blaster,’ you see him goose stepping to a Nazi marching song… I have to say, I know you’re not a voter in that district, you didn’t nominate this guy, but I was surprised to see you endorse him and fundraise for him.”
Johnson admitted that Herrera’s language was “detestable,” but fiercely defended the controversial candidate as being a “very thoughtful guy.”
“Brandon Herrera has been out running a very effective campaign. He has apologized for all that — he was a podcaster and a provocateur and tried to get attention,” Johnson said. “Now, he’s running as a very serious candidate for Congress and a very thoughtful guy.”
Johnson also argued Herrera was "far superior" to his Democratic opponent and described the race as a "contrast election between common sense and crazy."
Herrera's opponent is Katy Padilla Stout, a former school teacher.
HOLY SHIT -- Tapper plays Mike Johnson footage of Republican candidate Brandon Herrera describing moms as "cum trophies," mentions he called Nazi machine guns "the original ghetto blasters," and asks Johnson how he can support him. Johnson says "Herrera has run a very effective… pic.twitter.com/xfz2n8ZzmJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 13, 2026