TTT Reporting
Dec 11, 2023
Recently, newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson published a foreword of the book The Revivalist Manifesto written by local Louisiana political blogger Scott McKay as well as promoting the book on his social media platforms and his podcast.
Johnson put out a 300-word foreword praising McKays work as a valuable contribution that has resonated with “freedom-loving Americans.” The Revivalist Manifesto has been the subject of much scrutiny since its publication in 2022 as it espouses several baseless conspiracy theories supported by the far-right and makes many unsubstantiated claims.
For example, the book mentions the now debunked “Pizzagate” controversy which alleged that several Democratic officials were involved in a trafficking ring. He insinuates that the hacked emails from John Podesta, former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman, proved that the “unexplained references” to “hot dogs and pizza” were code words used by criminals. He claimed that “the most outlandish allegations made in it were clearly disproven” but that “the whole thing just seemed to be dismissed as debunked, and no explanation was ever given.”
McKay also implicated that John Roberts, Supreme Court Chief Justice, was connected to Jeffery Epstein and was blackmailed. The book also defended famous podcaster Joe Rogan after it was revealed that he used racial slurs. McKay uses derogatory remarks in reference to prominent Democratic officials. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who is of Native American and Norwegian decent, was mockingly called “half oppressed” and he even claimed that Barack Obama’s “chief selling point was that he was black.”
The book also goes on to disparage impoverished voters, calling them “unsophisticated and susceptible to government dependency,” easily manipulated with “bowdlerizing old monuments” or “Black Lives Matter ‘defund the police’ pandering.” And called John McCain’s prisoner of war status during the Vietnam war “a political get-out-of jail-free card.”
Throughout the book, many homophobic slurs are used. Most notably directed at Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg where he refers to him as “queer choice” and “obnoxiously gay”. It then proceeds to mock the urgency of the climate crisis and deny the connection between carbon dioxide emissions and climate change.
In his podcast, Johnson described McKay as a “dear friend” and has written many of his own opinion pieces featured on McKays blog The Hayride. Critics argue that Johnson’s endorsement of The Revivalist Manifesto and other works of McKay raise questions about his judgement as a leader and his ability to represent the opinions of American citizens.