'Proud Confederate': Mike Johnson faces backlash for claiming Supreme Court blocked racism

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faced backlash after claiming the U.S. Supreme Court would strike down the parts of the Voting Rights Act that protected districts with Black U.S. representatives.

During a Wednesday interview with Fox News, host Brian Kilmeade asked Johnson how much easier it would be to retain the House majority without majority-Black districts.

"It was a big thing, and the court came out rightfully and said, we had an unconstitutional map in Louisiana, and by extension, these other states that had drawn lines based on race," Johnson explained. "And they reaffirmed a very important principle. Nobody, no American citizens should be discriminated against based on the color of their skin, and that's what that did."

"When you draw for one race, you leave out the others and vice versa," he added. "So it's the right result."

For many commenters, Johnson's remarks seemed to be the opposite of what the court did.

"Considering that the Voting Rights Act was specifically created because American citizens were discriminated against based on the color of their skin....this is rich," LeBetard Show Senior Producer Roy Bellamy wrote.

"Mike Johnson is a proud Confederate," the pro-democracy group Veterans for Responsible Leadership commented.

"It's now just history without history," former police officer Patrick Skinner pointed out.

"They did the opposite," Former Florida state Senator Paula Dockery observed.