Tag: Sen. Johnson

Four Pinocchios for Ron Johnson’s campaign of vaccine misinformation

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“The fact of the matter is it looks like natural immunity is as strong if not stronger than vaccinated immunity. … There is a risk to the vaccine. Again, it’s very small, but there are some pretty serious side effects, including death. We are already over 5,200 deaths reported on the VAERS system. That’s a CDC, FDA’s early warning system.”

— Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), in an interview on “Hannity” on Fox News, July 14

Johnson has emerged as the leading vaccine skeptic in Congress this year.

For months, the senator has been peddling misinformation about coronavirusvaccines, undeterred by fact checkers, federal health agencies, medical experts and a growing body of scientific research.

We previously dug into two Johnson claims that resurfaced in this interview on Fox News, a network whose right-wing personalities consistently bash the Biden administration’s vaccination efforts. Continue reading.

Unearthed video reveals GOP’s Ron Johnson’s profane and conspiratorial rant at GOP lunch

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On Tuesday, CNN’s KFILE unearthed comments made by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) at a meeting with the Republican Women of Greater Wisconsin luncheon in Wauwatosa, in which he spun profanity-laced conspiracy theories denying climate science.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I think climate change is — as Lord Monckton said — bullsh*t,” the Wisconsin Republican said, referring to British conservative climate change denier Lord Christopher Monckton. “By the way, it is!”

Johnson went onto lament that “we’re killing ourselves” with measures to address climate change, and went on to call them “a self-inflicted wound.” Continue reading.

WATCH: Ron Johnson booed after showing up at a Juneteenth celebration after trying to block the holiday

Senate passes bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday after Johnson backs down

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NOTE: We’re posting this after the holiday has become a reality so people know where the hold up was.

The measure is now expected to move quickly through the House

Juneteenth is on its way to becoming a federal holiday. Hours after Sen. Ron Johnsonannounced he would drop his objections Tuesday, the Senate passed the bill. 

The day commemorates June 19, 1865, when slaves in Galveston, Texas learned they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier. Celebrated in 47 states and the District of Columbia, Juneteenth has long unofficially marked the day slavery in America truly ended.

Last year, in the wake of millions marching under the Black Lives Matters banner following the killing of George Floyd, a bipartisan group tried to get Congress to recognize Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, introduced the measure in the House, while Edward Markey, D-Mass., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, made the push in the Senate. Continue reading.

YouTube suspends Ron Johnson for 7 days

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YouTube suspended Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) from posting videos on the platform for one week over his remarks touting unproven treatments for COVID-19.

The platform said it also removed a video from Johnson in line with its policies against COVID-19 misinformation. The video had highlighted Johnson’s remarks from a hearing where he discussed experimental treatments for COVID-19 like hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.

“We removed the video in accordance with our COVID-19 medical misinformation policies, which don’t allow content that encourages people to use Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin to treat or prevent the virus,” a YouTube spokesperson told The Hill. Continue reading.

‘Sick and twisted excuse for a human being’: Wisconsin paper slams Ron Johnson for defending Jan. 6 insurrectionists

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Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin not only voted against a bill calling for a commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection — he has also downplayed the violence that occurred that day, insisting that the insurrectionists did not frighten him and claiming that the riot was mostly a “peaceful protest.” The Cap Times, based in Wisconsin’s state capitol of Madison, slams the far-right GOP senator in a blistering editorial published on June 2 — describing his actions as those of a “sick and twisted excuse for a human being.”

Gladys Sicknick, mother of Brian Sicknick — a Capitol Police Officer who died following the violence of January 6 — tried to convince Johnson and other Senate Republicans that a January 6 commission was badly needed. But Johnson was unmoved.

“Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson met last week with the mother of fallen U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died on the day that former President Trump incited an insurrectionist mob to attack the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election,” the Cap Times’ editorial board explains. “She did so despite the fact that Johnson has declared that he was not frightened by the attack on the Capitol because the seditionists were people who ‘truly respect law enforcement.’ Gladys Sicknick wanted to explain to Johnson that what happened on the day her son died was not, as the senator continues to claim, a ‘peaceful protest.'” Continue reading.

Ron Johnson exposes the real reason why GOP lawmakers would not support the Jan 6 commission

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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) claims House Republican lawmakers were concerned about becoming “media roadkill” if they had voted against the formation of a January 6 commission to further investigate the Capitol insurrection. 

On Friday, Johnson appeared on Fox News with primetime host Tucker Carlson where he discussed the 35 Republican lawmakers who voted in favor of the bill designed to establish a commission for the investigation into the series of events that unfolded on January 6. According to Johnson, those lawmakers who sided with House Democrats are influenced by the media.

This week, the bill advanced to the Senate after a 252 – 175 vote.  Continue reading.

FBI warned Giuliani, key Trump ally in Senate of Russian disinformation campaign targeting Biden

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The FBI warned Rudolph W. Giuliani in late 2019 that he was the target of a Russian influence operation aimed at circulating falsehoods intended to damage President Biden politically ahead of last year’s election, according to people familiar with the matter.

The warning was part of an extensive effort by the bureau to alert members of Congress and at least one conservative media outlet, One America News, that they faced a risk of being used to further Russia’s attempt to influence the election’s outcome, said several current and former U.S. officials. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter remains highly sensitive.

Giuliani received the FBI’s warning while deeply involved with former president Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign and related activities in Ukraine to surface unflattering or incriminating information about the Biden family. The revelation comes as the FBI this week seized Giuliani’s cellphone and other electronic devices as part of a long-running criminal investigation into whether the onetime New York mayor and personal attorney for Trump acted as an unregistered foreign agent. Continue reading.

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson Criticizes ‘Big Push’ To Get Everyone Vaccinated

KEY FACTS

  • In an interview with conservative Wisconsin radio host Vicki McKenna, herself a vocal coronavirus vaccine skeptic, Johnson launched into a condemnation of “vaccine passports,” a credential that would allow businesses to verify vaccination status.
  • But Johnson also went a step further, declaring that he sees “no reason to be pushing vaccines on people,” arguing that their distribution should be “limited” to those most vulnerable to coronavirus, and asking, “If you have a vaccine, quite honestly, what do you care if your neighbor has one or not?”
  • Johnson said he is “getting highly suspicious” of the “big push to make sure everybody gets the vaccine,” not only stating it’s “not a fully approved vaccine” but also arguing that the fact it is 95% effective means only a limited number of people need to be vaccinated. Continue reading.

Trump endorses Sen. Ron Johnson for reelection

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Former President Trump on Thursday endorsed Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson (R) for 2022 reelection — despite the fact that Johnson has not publicly announced he will actually launch a bid. 

Between the lines: Johnson made a vow when first elected to the Senate that he would only serve two terms. His second term will end in 2022. But the senator in recent months hasn’t completely sworn off the idea of another term.