House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday doubled down on his criticisms of millions of protesters who joined Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies across the nation, decrying the widely peaceful demonstrations as evidence of “a rise of Marxism in the Democratic Party.”
In an interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl on “This Week,” the Louisiana Republican said the protests were “political cover” for Democrats as the government shutdown continues.
“They needed a stunt,” Johnson said. “They needed a show. Chuck Schumer has — needs cover right now. He’s closed the government down because he needs political cover, and this was a part of it.”
Demonstrators gathered across the country in an estimated 2,700 separate “No Kings” rallies Saturday to protest what they call President Donald Trump’s authoritarianism. It was the third mass mobilization against the Trump administration since he returned to the White House in January.
Reports of the protests show demonstrators dressed in costumes of inflatable animals, dancing in the streets and holding signs criticizing Trump and his administration. Organizers estimated that almost 7 million people took part.
Though he congratulated protesters on a “violent-free, free speech exercise,” Johnson on Sunday condemned what he said were “hateful messages” of the demonstrations.
“We have video and photos of pretty violent rhetoric, calling out the president, saying fascists must die and all the rest. I mean, I don’t think that’s loving speech. I don’t think that’s friendly speech. And I don’t think it’s pro-American to say those kinds of things,” Johnson said.
Johnson had been a vocal critic of the rallies leading up to the weekend. He and other allies of the president called the demonstrations “Hate America rallies” and sought to tie the protests to Hamas and antifa.
“The irony of the message is pretty clear for everyone. If President Trump was a king, the government would be open right now,” Johnson said. “If President Trump was a king, they would not have been able to engage in that free speech exercise out on The Mall, by the way, which was open because President Trump hasn’t closed it.”
Leading up to Saturday’s nationwide protests, Trump told Fox News that people are “referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.” But shortly before a Washington rally began Saturday, the Trump War Room account posted an image of a smirking Trump wearing a crown.
Still, Johnson on Sunday said the message of the protests pushed an “un-American” Marxist ideology.
“It’s not about the people, it’s about the message. It’s about the ideology,” said Johnson. “It is a dangerous ideology, and it is anti-American. It goes against everything that we stand for.”
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