House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Democrats of showing less appreciation for the United States than visiting World Cup fans, urging them: “Don’t forget your blessings.”
The Louisiana Republican made the remarks at a Wednesday press conference while responding to a string of victories by left-wing candidates in New York a day earlier. Three candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani won House primary races, including two democratic socialists.
Johnson sought to draw a contrast between the blue state politicians he deemed ungrateful and foreign soccer fans, whom he said have been tantalized by the “ taste of freedom.”
“Right now, we’re triumphantly hosting the World Cup games all around the country, and we’re seeing people from different countries come and get a little taste of America, a little taste of freedom, of our culture, our society, and they appreciate it so much more than these socialists running for Congress,” the top Republican said.
“Fans across the country are truly enjoying our world class facilities and incredible atmosphere on the field and off the field,” he continued. “Thanks to social media we’re seeing a lot of these.”
Johnson then rattled off headlines about Dutch travelers marveling at the convenience chain Buc-ee’s, German players stopping by Waffle House and English fans wandering the Florida Everglades.
Since the tournament, hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada, kicked off this month, social media has indeed been abuzz with testimonials from international visitors, many of them speaking of the U.S. in glowing terms.
“We owe apologies to America because their football stadiums are so much better than ours,” one Englishman said in a video posted on Friday from the England-Croatia match in Dallas.
“We were apprehensive about coming,” a Scottish woman who traveled to Boston for the games said in another video. “We were expecting to be met by ICE, you know the political climate we all see on the news, and that could not be further from the truth of what we’ve actually experienced.”
Other tourists have gone viral for embracing classic American staples such as ranch dressing and the hit song “Country Roads.” Not all the reviews have been positive, though, as many visitors have griped about soaring ticket prices.
Addressing the trend during a press conference, Johnson said: “The visitors appreciate what we have” — emphasizing the word visitors.
He added that many foreign fans “grew up under repressive state controlled economies,” have “never known freedom” and are “seeing for themselves the genius of the American system.”
Meanwhile, he said, “rising socialist, Marxist democrat candidates are trying to tear the system down.”
Johnson also broadened his criticism beyond left-wing politicians to Democratic voters more generally, accusing them of lacking “zeal” for America.
He pointed to a new NBC News poll, which found that only a small fraction of Democratic voters say they are proud to be American.
Elsewhere in the press conference, Johnson expressed support for the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship for new voters, and argued that birthright citizenship — which President Trump is seeking to overturn — “can be abused.” He also said the U.S. economy, which has been hampered by the Iran war, “is going to take off like a rocket.”
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