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Mike Johnson Slammed After Defending MAGA House Candidate Who Gave Babies NSFW Nickname In Sexist Rant

Mike Johnson; Brandon Herrera
CNN

CNN's Jake Tapper pressed Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on his endorsement of MAGA candidate Brandon Herrera, who once called babies "c*m trophies" in a sexist attack on moms—and Johnson's response has critics up in arms.

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Gun-rights activist, firearms manufacturer, and Texas Republican House candidate Brandon Herrera has drawn widespread backlash over his repeated misogynistic attacks against women, for referring to children as "c*m trophies," and for calling a Nazi-era submachine gun "the original ghetto blaster."

Herrera posted all of this on his YouTube channel and stands behind all of it without apology.


With Herrera's bigoted views clearly on display, a self-described Christian nationalist like Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson could at least condemn the language and the rhetoric, if not the candidate. But even that was too much to ask of the so-called devout Christian.

In an interview on Sunday with Jake Tapper on CNN, Johnson only had excuses and praise for Herrera.

You can see an excerpt here:

Before playing a clip of Herrera, Tapper told Johnson:

"You talked about some of the more extreme [Democratic Socialists of America]-type candidates the Democrats have. Republicans have some candidates like that on their own."
"For instance, Brandon Herrera, he’s a House candidate in Texas. You have endorsed him. You have fund-raised for him. Before he started becoming a congressional correspondent, I mean, congressional candidate, he’s a YouTuber, and he has said some offensive, sexually explicit, crude things about women and children."
"Here’s a little bit of what he said just three years ago. And I want to warn viewers that this language is pretty gross."

After playing the clip, Tapper confronted Johnson, saying:

"That’s him disparaging moms. He’s also in a video testing a Nazi-era submachine gun. He called it the 'original ghetto blaster.' You see him goose-stepping to a Nazi marching song in a podcast two years ago."
"He joked, 'We should abolish old people.'"
"I have to say, I know you’re not a voter in that district. You didn’t nominate this guy, but I was surprised to see you endorse him and fund-raise for him. What does [his] candidacy say about the Republican Party’s more extreme candidates?"

Johnson replied:

"...Brandon Herrera has been out running a very effective campaign and explained to people that he has apologized for all that."

But there is no record of Herrera ever directly apologizing for his past online and YouTube comments, instead characterizing them as just "jokes" or part of an online persona.

Johnson continued making excuses for Herrera, saying:

"He was a podcaster and a provocateur and tried to get attention. That’s not the way I speak or think, and that’s not the way most do. But that was his persona online, right?"

Johnson then praised Herrera, claiming he'd be a welcome addition to Congress.

"Right now, he’s running as a very serious candidate for Congress and a very thoughtful guy. I was with him at the convention. We talked about all this. I said, Brandon, when you get to Congress, and he will be there, you’re going to join this team and help us to save America to preserve freedom and bring down costs for the American people."
"That guy’s laser-focused on doing that, and he is far superior to the candidate he is running against down in that district in South Texas."

People were disgusted by Johnson constantly pushing his Christian nationalist agenda while failing to walk the walk.

@denisa0719_/X


@thecachinnator/Threads



Accused ofCampaign finance concealment ✔️ Derogatory statements against women ✔️ Nazi imagery and extremism ✔️ Veteran suicide jokes ✔️ Makes him a good solid maga candidate#trumpepsteinfiles #melaniafiles #removetheregime
— kkmarie.bsky.social (@kkmarie.bsky.social) September 13, 2026 at 10:57 AM


@jeetguerra/Threads


And where are those common sense Republicans? I believe they have all been pushed out to make way for MAGA cult members
— Carey (@distraughtcarey.bsky.social) September 13, 2026 at 1:37 PM



@barrych12/Threads


@friedman.andy/Threads


Brandon Herrera, Ken Paxton, Don Huffines and Bo French perfectly represent the Texas GOP.
— Elizabeth GB (@ayandaleatx.bsky.social) September 13, 2026 at 10:51 AM


@JoJoFromJerz/X

Herrera's opponent in November is Democrat Katy Padilla Stout, who is Texas born and raised, unlike Herrera who, like Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, is a Texas transplant.

Herrera grew up in North Carolina and only moved to Texas in 2020.

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