Mike Johnson Addresses His Icy Reception at Columbia

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), speaking to CNN right after his cold reception by pro-Palestine Columbia University student protesters, said he wasn’t surprised by the situation, since he was there to essentially issue a reprimand.

Johnson told Erin Burnett that he and the other Republican lawmakers who joined him on campus had a message for the students.

“I’m not surprised that they didn’t welcome our visit, because we’re calling out their activities,” Johnson said. “The point we tried to make today is that this is not who we are as Americans. This is not an expression of the First Amendment. This is not an exchange of ideas. This is threats and intimidation of violence against Jewish students for who they are, for their faith, and that’s a terrible trend that’s going on in the country right now.”

“We have these similar types of activities and what are becoming violent protests on campuses around the country,” Johnson continued.

When Burnett pressed Johnson, who called for the resignation of Columbia’s president if she failed to shut down the protests, about whether chants of “free Palestine” are antisemitic, Johnson brought up where Hamas stands on the protests.

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“If you're getting endorsed by Hamas, that’s not a good look. It’s not a good sign,” he said.

Johnson also emphatically defended Israel’s response to the terrorist group’s attack last October.

“We should not be dictating to Israel their military strategy,” he said, prompting Burnett to ask if there was “anything Israel could do that would be over the line.” The death toll of innocent civilians in Gaza, she mentioned, is in the tens of thousands.

Johnson absolved Israel from responsibility.

“There have been civilians murdered, but that is not the fault of Israel,” he said. “It’s the fault of the terrorists—the Hamas operators and soldiers—the terrorists who have used these people, and put them in harm’s way. Israel, I’m convinced, is doing its very best to prevent civilian casualties.”

“But this is a war, and they’re fighting for their very existence, and they are not the aggressors. It is the other side,” Johnson contended, before referring to Columbia students.

“Some of the people here seem not to understand that,” he added, “and I think that’s a real problem.”