CNN Reveals Speaker Johnson Wrote the Foreword For A Book That Spreads ‘PizzaGate’ Conspiracy Theory And Uses Homophobic Slurs
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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) wrote the introduction and offered praise for a book published in 2022 that promoted conspiracy theories and used homophobic slurs, according to a new report by CNN‘s K-File.
CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck reported Friday that Johnson wrote the foreword for the book titled, The Revivalist Manifesto, a far-right novel that embraces the discredited “PizzaGate” conspiracy theory, which falsely claimed Democratic leaders were part of an underground pedophile cult. The conspiracy theory led to gun violence in Washington DC.
The book’s author Scott McKay, a Louisiana political blogger, also claimed in his book that Chief Justice John Roberts was connected to deceased underage sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. McKay suggests in other chapters that poor voters are “unsophisticated” and easy to manipulate with “government dependency.”
K-File noted that Johnson’s forward to the book praised McKay for his “valuable and timely contribution with The Revivalist Manifesto because he has managed here to articulate well what millions of conscientious, freedom-loving Americans are sensing.”
Moreover, the CNN report also documents the speaker’s history with promoting the book on social media, including dedicating an episode of his podcast to interviewing McKay.
“I obviously believe in the product, or I wouldn’t have written the foreword. So I endorse the work,” Johnson said during a podcast interview with McKay, according to CNN. Johnson has also written opinion columns for McKay’s online blog and has referred to the conspiracy author as a “dear friend.”
The report also highlights the book’s homophobic jabs at Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg where McKay refers to him as the “queer choice” for the Biden Cabinet and claims “Gay Mayor Pete Buttigieg is openly and obnoxiously, gay.”
K-File adds that McKay’s book shares his thoughts on the debunked Seth Rich conspiracy theory. Per CNN:
McKay’s book also shares other unfounded conspiracy theories, including the debunked claim that the Democratic National Committee’s emails in 2016 were not hacked but leaked by a staffer named Seth Rich. In 2020, Rich’s parents settled a lawsuit with Fox News, stemming from the network’s publication of a retracted story connecting their son’s murder to right-wing conspiracy theories. The book denies that carbon dioxide is linked to climate change and frequently mocks the climate crisis as “hysteria.”
Following the story’s publication, a spokesperson for the speaker claimed that Johnson was unaware of the passages inside the book and disagrees with McKay’s writing on those topics.
“The Speaker had never read the passages highlighted in the CNN story which he strongly disagrees with. He wrote the foreword as a favor to a friend, supportive of the general theme of the book but not as an endorsement of all the opinions expressed,” Johnson’s spokesperson told CNN.
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