Jen Psaki Says New GOP Speaker Should ‘Scare’ Everyone Because He’s a ‘Christian Fundamentalist’

MSNBC hosts and guests have repeatedly brought up new Republican Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson’s religion over the last week, with former Biden admin spox Jen Psaki in particular going after him for being “basically a Christian fundamentalist” in a Saturday article and Sunday segment on her show.

On the latest Inside with Jen Psaki the former press secretary warned viewers that Speaker Johnson isn’t as “fine-ish” as he might seem from being a person who wears a suit. In fact, she said, his recent comments in an interview showed just now not fine at all he actually is. Instead, he believes in the Bible.

Adopting a sing-songy, sarcastically mocking tone, Psaki said Sunday, “So let’s take a few minutes to talk about this new speaker.”

“First glance, Mike Johnson does seem fine. Fine-ish. Conservative, yes. But he once started to civility caucus with a Democrat. And I mean, if nothing else, he wears a suit and has glasses,” she mocked, adding an implication-laden rhetorical question. “How threatening can this guy actually be?”

“Well, he gave us all a little clue as to how he would govern in an interview this week,” she said to introduce the big reveal.

That reveal was a clip of Johnson talking about his religious beliefs.

“I am a Bible-believing Christian. Someone asked me today in the media, they said, well, it’s curious. People are curious, what does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?” he said in the clip. “I said, Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s that’s my world view.”

“You heard that right!” said Psaki in dramatic fashion of the basic Christian belief. “The Bible doesn’t just inform his worldview, it is his worldview.”

That may seem like a distinction without a difference but the tone of Psaki’s delivery suggested you should assume that is very much not the case.

Psaki then said that in his first speech as Speaker, Johnson “suggested that his election as speaker was an act of God.”

“Talk about a bit of a humblebrag there,” she said mocking another very basic religious view that’s not even specific to Christians.

Johnson said that God raised up “each of you” in his speech to the House, meaning all the members of Congress, Democrat and Republican alike. He then added that he believes God put everyone where they were for a reason, and that they each have a responsibility to “serve the extraordinary people of this great nation.”

“I believe that scripture, the Bible, is very clear that God is the one that raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you. All of us. And I believe that God has allowed and ordained each and every one of us to be here at this specific moment. This is my belief. I believe that each one of us has a huge responsibility today to use the gifts God has given us to serve the extraordinary people of this great nation, and they deserve it.”

That may not seem very radical to most people but Psaki seemed certain it would shock her MSNBC audience.

“So, what exactly has God apparently called on Mike Johnson to do?” said Psaki in the same extra-sarcastic tone, again mocking a very basic religious idea — that God has expectations of people. She then went on to list political views of Johnson’s that she does not share, proving beyond the shadow of doubt that his belief in the Bible is insidious, you are to understand.

In her article for MSNBC on Saturday, Psaki said that Johnson is far from “harmless,” implying that this was the accepted narrative, as if it that would ever be the media’s take on anyone with an (R) after their name.

“Most Americans might not be able to pick Mike Johnson out of a lineup, but in reality he’s far from benign,” said Psaki. “It’s not just his political ideology that should scare us. Johnson is basically a Christian fundamentalist.”

Johnson’s religion was also the subject of criticism on MSNBC’s The Katie Phang Show and The Sunday Show With Jonathan Capehart on Sunday, as well as The ReidOut and Morning Joe on Friday, and in other articles at the MSNBC website.

You probably expect that Psaki and others at the network made an effort to separate their attack on Johnson’s particular cultural and political views from the Christian faith in general.

Nope.

And while that careless conflation of Biblical beliefs and Christian faith writ large with some sort of “dangerous” ideology — characterized in the main by a verboten-in-media opposition to abortion — was not limited on the network to Psaki’s show, it was most pronounced among her peers in her finger-pointing jeering and heaps of visible scorn.

Because you see, being a snarky, anti-religious, culty progressive DNC talking points prophet does not just inform Psaki’s world view, it is her world view.

Watch the clip above, via MSNBC.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.