House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was hounded on social media for an "epic Freudian slip" he made while attempting to distance the Republican Party from Nazi ideology.
The Louisiana Republican was asked to comment on the U.S. Capitol police investigation of a swastika spotted on a Zoom call in a cubicle used by Angelo Elia, a staffer for Rep. Dave Taylor (R-OH), and Johnson insisted the GOP stood against Nazism.
"That is not the principles of the Republican Party," Johnson said. "We stand for the founding principles of America – want me to articulate them for you right now? Individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, human dignity – the things that lead to human flourishing."
"We have stood against that, we have fought against the Nazis," Johnson added, and then apparently misspoke before insisting Nazi sympathies were a problem in both parties. "We defended that evil ideology. We roundly condemn it, and anybody in any party who espouses it, we're opposing that."
Johnson did not catch his apparent gaffe and attempt to correct it, but social media users certainly noticed.
"Epic Freudian slip," posted The Lincoln Project.
"Freudian slip of the century," said the House Majority PAC. "Mike Johnson says 'we've defended that evil ideology' while talking about Nazis."
"Lord, the Freudian slippage was so loud, I think it caused a sonic boom," agreed X user medbeds & ballyhoo.
"Mike Johnson accidentally said 'defended' instead of 'defeated' when talking about the US fighting Nazis in WWII in response to a question about the group chat," reported HuffPost correspondent Arthur Delaney, referring to a newly revealed group chat where Young Republicans leaders used racial slurs and praised Adolf Hitler.
"Speaker Mike Johnson is accidentally honest," added Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director for the Campaign for New York Health.
"Mike Johnson says they defended that evil Nazi ideology. Rapid-fire lies jam the tongue, and the truth leaks out," said Bluesky user Tom Wellborn. "The GOP plays freedom hymns while winking at Nazis, swimming in racist group chats. The mask slips, the brownshirt shows. Evil spreads."
"'We defended Nazi ideology.' -Mike Johnson. 'Stop attacking pedophiles!' - Ted Cruz. 'The President has plenary authority.' - Stephen Miller," noted X user Geoff Geoff on Thursday. "They're just as bad at keeping their agenda hidden as they are at being a functional government."
