Sunday on ABC’s “this Week,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said there was “a rise of Marxism in the Democratic Party.”
Partial transcript as follows:
JONATHAN KARL: On this notion that these are hate America rallies. And you not only talked about anarchists, Antifa advocates, pro-Hamas wing. And you said this is the modern Democratic Party. But I remember not that long ago what you said after the — the murder of Charlie Kirk, when you said that we should view fellow Americans not as our enemies but — but as our fellow countrymen.
JOHNSON: Yes. I’ve never called anybody an enemy. But we call out —
KARL: Hate America rally or, you know, Antifa, pro-Hamas, that sounds — those are enemies.
JOHNSON: Well, there were a lot of hateful messages yesterday. I mean, 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. So, it’s not about the people, it’s about the message. It’s about the ideology. And I will stand here every Sunday and talk with you about the dangers of Marxism and socialism and how it’s led to the — the literal death of tens of millions of people in the 20th century alone. It is a dangerous ideology, and it is anti-American. It goes against everything that we stand for.
KARL: But you’re not saying this is all of the Democratic Party. It’s not all of the people that were out there. I mean, it kind of reminds me of what Hillary Clinton said, referred to Trump supporters, or half of them, as the “basket of the deplorables.”
JOHNSON: I’ve never said that. I never called out — I never said it was the whole Democratic Party. But you and I have to acknowledge the reality —
KARL: Well, the —
JOHNSON: Wait a minute.
KARL: So, this is the modern Democratic Party.
JOHNSON: It is. Because look at the evidence. Look at what’s happening in New York. They’re about to elect an open socialist Marxist as the mayor of America’s largest city. There’s a rise of Marxism in the Democratic Party. It’s an objective fact. And no one can deny it. We lament that. We decry it. We’re trying to call it out because I want to make sure the next generation of Americans understands, that is a dangerous road to go down. That’s part of our — our calling. I think part of our responsibility as — as elected servants of the people.
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