Anti-abortion, homophobic extremist Johnson wants to force women to stay in bad marriages

There are several reasons for Donald Trump to be thrilled that Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson became speaker of the House. Some of those reasons are obvious: Johnson has established himself as a Trump lackey who played a leading role in enabling—even planning—Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election. And as a “self-consciously committed” white evangelical “Christian,” Johnson is firmly embedded with what is probably the key demographic driving Trump’s election chances in 2024. Trump, who views religious beliefs with the same cynicism and contempt that he views military service, sees his relationship with that demographic as purely transactional; they are a necessary vehicle for him to get what he wants, and he earned their everlasting support by fulfilling their most cherished goal, ensuring the overturn of Roe v. Wade.  

But there is another point of commonality between both men that neither one is probably aware of: They are both dyed-in-the-wool misogynists. It’s clear that Trump personally sees women as little more than decorations to validate and project his power or as tools for his own sexual gratification, which explains why at least 26 women have gone public accusing him of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and rape.

But the misogyny is more than a bug of Trump’s noxious personality. It was literally a feature of an administration that not only tolerated rampant sexual harassment in its ranks but also actively pursued policies that deliberately attacked women’s progress and sought to undermine women’s role in our society, particularly in matters relating to employment and discrimination. 

Johnson’s disdain of women, on the other hand, has its roots in the so-called religious “faith” that informs his mentality. His sensibilities are rooted in fealty to the patriarchal and sexually repressive dogma he gleans from the scripture with which he has chosen to indoctrinate himself. Those lessons confirm for him that women should be subservient, that they are unequal to men and therefore undeserving of the same rights and privileges. His vehement opposition to abortion is the most visible manifestation of these attitudes, but there are others that are even more revealing about his mindset. One of those, his push to end no-fault divorce, is enjoying a resurgence as a goal of the far right in its efforts to impose their misogynist agenda on the rest of the country.

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