CNN anchor Jake Tapper said Wednesday on CNN’s “News Central” that newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is “very ideologically to the right.”
Tapper said, “I’ve known Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House Johnson, for about 18 years. I covered the Louisiana story in 2005, even though the courts kept telling me not to.” , there were dioceses that continued to bring Christian priests into their parishes to pray in schools, and the ACLU continued to demand that the school districts in those dioceses stop.”
He continued, “And he, Mike Johnson, was working at a conservative organization called the Allied Defense Fund (I think it was called that) at the time. I remember being impressed and amazed that he was able to present a very conservative point of view, a very religious conservative point of view, in a very calm manner and in a smooth manner. And I remember thinking, “This person is going to be a member of Congress someday.”
He added: “I confess, I never expected him to become Speaker of the House within 20 years of that moment. But it’s not at all surprising that he rose so quickly. . His ideology has the ability to seem much more mainstream than I actually think it is. So it’s not at all surprising that he was able to rise up so quickly. The American public too. As you can see, he seems to have a very gentle demeanor. He’s very smart and very charming.”
Tapper concluded: “His ideology is very right-leaning. He’s very conservative. He’s a true believer. And given the fact that I think the core of his party is actually probably not as conservative as he is. And it’s going to be very interesting to see if that’s a liability for him. Certainly the center of the country is closer to the center. I don’t know if that’s a liability for him at all. . It will be interesting to see.”
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