---

← Back to all posts

What Speaker Mike Johnson’s Digital Footprint Tells Us

Insights • October 25, 2023

Now that Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA-4) is Speaker of the House, Rational 360 has analyzed his social media behavior on X (formerly Twitter) to better understand the issues he cares most about and what influences him. 

To do this, Rational 360 has taken a deep dive to examine: 

1. Who Mike Johnson shares content from.
2. What issues Mike Johnson posts about most.
3. Where Mike Johnson gets his news.

Rational 360 identified the social media accounts shared most by Rep. Johnson’s X (formerly Twitter) over the past two years. Rational 360 found: 

Insight 1: Mike Johnson shares content from House Judiciary Republicans and the Family Research Council.

• Rep. Johnson frequently amplifies messaging and news from the House Judiciary Republicans and its Chairman Jim Jordan. Rep. Johnson has been a member of the House Judiciary Committee since being sworn in. Rep. Johnson has shared content 47 times from the Committee and Rep. Jordan combined in the last two years, more shares than any other committee Rep. Johnson is a part of. 
• Rep. Johnson has close ties to Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. Posts from Tony Perkins are the 5th most-shared from Rep. Johnson’s X (formerly Twitter) account. Perkins had a brief career in the Louisiana state legislature from 1996 – 2004. Perkins went on to chair the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
• Perkins’ show, Washington Watch, hosted Rep. Johnson just over a month ago to discuss FBI investigations of the Biden administration and “wokeness” in the American military.

Insight 2: Mike Johnson posts most about abortion, the economy, and defense.

Rational 360 analyzed the presence of ten major national issues among social media posts from Rep. Johnson over the past two years. Rational 360 found: 

• Rep. Johnson posts about abortion, the economy, and defense in roughly equal measure. 
  • Rep. Johnson is a fierce advocate of anti-abortion policies. While the aftermath of the Roe v Wade repeal catalyzed this discussion, Johnson also shared his opinions frequently throughout the year via evergreen content.
    • Rep. Johnson has called abortion “an unspeakable tragedy,” and said that Democratic policies on the issue are “unhinged.”
  • Among Rep. Johnson’s posts on the economy, he received the highest engagement when referring to inflation. Rep. Johnson’s top three most-engaged posts referencing economic issues all mention inflation (1, 2, 3). 
  • Rep. Johnson, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, has also posted 123 times over the last two years on defense issues, notably echoing messaging from the Republican Armed Services account and pushing back against the Biden Administration’s COVID vaccine mandate for the military.

Insight 3: Mike Johnson gets his news from right-leaning outlets and home-district publications.

Rational 360 ranked news sites Rep. Johnson shared articles from most often on social media over the past two years. Rational 360 found (unsurprisingly): 

• Rep. Johnson tends to share articles from right-leaning outlets. While FOX News is an obvious cornerstone in this arena, Rep. Johnson also pays special attention to the Daily Caller and Daily Signal. 
• Rep. Johnson has close ties to in-district publications, mainly those out of Shreveport, LA. Rep. Johnson shares news stories from these outlets and has penned several op-eds in them.