Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, authored the foreword and actively promoted a 2022 book by Scott McKay, a local Louisiana politics blogger. The book titled 'The Revivalist Manifesto' disseminates baseless conspiracy theories, including the discredited 'Pizzagate' hoax, and makes derogatory homophobic remarks. Sections of the book regard poor voters as government-dependent and easily manipulated.
The book contains baseless claims, such as implying the Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts' involvement in blackmail and connections to Jeffrey Epstein. In addition, the book defends podcaster Joe Rogan from racism charges, for which he later apologized.
Johnson's endorsement goes beyond the foreword, as he actively promoted the book on social media and dedicated a podcast episode to hosting McKay in 2022. In the podcast, Johnson expressed that his viewpoint aligns with the book's content, prompting him to write its foreword and endorse it. Prior to becoming the speaker in October, Johnson had also written multiple political opinion pieces on the writer's blog, the Hayride.
In his book, McKay suggests that the hacked emails from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign chairman, contained coded references implying involvement in child sex trafficking through 'unexplained references' to 'hot dogs and pizza.' These terms resemble alleged code words associated with pedophiles.
On his Facebook Page, McKay explicitly states that the conspiracy related to code words was not debunked, going so far as to label Podesta as a pedophile. He openly endorses these claims online despite calling these theories inquiries in the book.
The book also contains claims that the Biden administration purposely admitted undocumented immigrants to gain voters, labeling Interior Secretary Deb Haaland as 'half-oppressed' due to her mixed heritage and claiming that Barack Obama's primary appeal was his race. Additionally, the book alleges that the late Senator John McCain exploited his time as a prisoner of war as a political advantage.
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A certain section of the book targets poor voters. McKays labels them as 'unsophisticated and susceptible to government dependency,' stating that this minority group can be easily manipulated, citing involvement in initiatives such as the 'Black Lives Matter' and the 'defund the police' movements, as well as midnight basketball.
The book criticizes Democratic Party figures, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, referred to by McKay as a 'queer choice' for a position in President Joe Biden's cabinet, which he alleges was done to satisfy LGBTQ supporters.
Jared Holt, an expert on right-wing conspiracy theories at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, expressed concerns to CNN about Speaker Johnson's promotion of the book, questioning the new House speaker's judgment. Holt characterizes the book as having right-wing political sentiments, suggesting that the speaker's endorsement might empower unpopular fringe ideas and potentially grant them disproportionate political influence.
Johnson's socially conservative views, particularly on homosexuality, have faced scrutiny. Amidst the controversy, Johnson's spokesman clarified that Johnson wrote the foreword as a favor to a friend, supporting the book's general theme but not endorsing all expressed opinions.
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