Revealed: Mike Johnson's 'alarming' ties to slavery-defending Christian extremists

The Daily Beast has published a new report revealing ties between House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Christian fundamentalists who believe slavery is justified by the Bible.

Specifically, the report notes that Johnson has openly praised Christian nationalist David Barton and has said that Barton's work has had a "profound influence" on him.

Barton is best known for his widely debunked claims about American founder Thomas Jefferson being a theocratic Christian fundamentalist, and The Daily Beast has found that his website has espoused even more extreme views.

"Barton’s group, WallBuilders, advocates for laws and legal interpretations premised on a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible," the publication writes. "And Barton’s website once published an in-depth defense of biblical slavery, challenging aspects of the 13th Amendment. The essay was first posted in 2003 and, though widely criticized, was only taken down at some point after October 2022, according to the nonprofit Internet Archive."

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A spokesperson for Johnson argued that the speaker did not deserve to be tarred with the words that others have written, but they notably did not disavow his ties to Barton.

"None of these actions or comments you are referencing were made by Speaker Johnson," the spokesperson said. "The Speaker is not going to apologize to the Daily Beast for his Christian faith or judge the beliefs or statements of others."

However, this is not Johnson's only run-in with slavery-defending fundamentalists, as in 2019 he delivered a speech before the Council for National Policy, a Christian group co-founded by Christian dominionist Gary North, who also believed slavery was justified by the Bible.

James Aho, a professor of religious studies at Idaho State University, told The Daily Beast that Johnson's willingness to associate with such extremists should be deeply concerning.

“It’s alarming that these people have gotten into Congress," he said.