Speaker of the House Mike Johnson accused President Joe Biden of "caving" to the "pro-Hamas wing" of the Democratic Party.
Johnson took issue with what he described as unchecked rampant antisemitic sentiment from his colleagues across the aisle during a Wednesday interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. The Speaker also warned of a new "axis of evil" in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea before panning Biden for "projecting weakness on the world stage."
"Would America stand by our allies, stand by Israel, the beleaguered people of Ukraine in this pivotal moment, or would we shrink back, and in my view, abdicate our obvious responsibility and role in the world?" Johnson asked, noting he didn't believe the United States needed to intervene in every world conflict. "I don’t believe that that is our burden. But I do believe that the perception of a strong America is essential, is essential on the world stage, and I think the Congress has acted to make sure that happens."
The Speaker then commented on pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests erupting at universities across the country over the past week including Columbia University, New York University, and Yale.
"I’ll tell you that the real problem we have right now is that we’re not getting strong leadership, obviously, from the White House or even some Democrats in Congress," Johnson said. "I mean, the White House is caving to the antisemitic, I call it the pro-Hamas wing of the party now. They’ve backpedaled on their support for Israel."
Johnson noted some Democratic members of Congress had not denounced chants of "Death to America" by pro-Palestinian protestors, in reference to Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
"They just go silent. They won’t call that out. And some members are, Democrat members of Congress, are even calling these antisemitic mobs peaceful protesters, and defending the harassment, intimidation and all the rest," he continued. "So it’s really, it’s really become a serious problem, and they’re allowing mob rule to overtake the American ideals of free speech and the free exchange of ideas and the free exercise of religion. This is not who we are."
Hewitt noted Johnson had a razor-thin single seat Republican majority over congressional Democrats and asked if he was seeking rule changes in order to bolster his abilities as Speaker.
"The Democrats think and act like a union. They’re collectivists. You know, they move in a herd. Many of them are not deeply principled or philosophical folks, anyway, and so you can command them, and they’ll move as social animals," Johnson said, calling Democratic colleagues socialists. "We, on the other hand, are rugged individualists, and we’re deeply principled and philosophical. And it’s difficult to get us to move in tandem sometimes. That’s a blessing."
The Speaker said he enjoyed the diversity of thought within the Republican conference despite the single-seat majority.
"I’m working every day to get the team together to understand the stakes. I think they do. And I think we’re going to get this job done, deliver for the people," he continued. "And Hugh, I think we’re going to grow the House majority and make this job easier. We’re going to win back the Senate, and I think Donald Trump’s going back to the White House. We’ll be able to turn this thing 180 degrees."
