New House Speaker Mike Johnson Addresses Public Scrutiny Over Raising Adopted Black Son

House Speaker Mike Johnson defends exclusion of son from public profile in light of his son's request for privacy, while receiving criticism from both sides of the aisle for his comments on race.

• Newly appointed House Speaker Mike Johnson has a Black son, Michael, whom he took into care 24 years ago and raised as his own alongside his four biological children.
• Michael's exclusion from Johnson's public profile and family photos is due to his personal request for privacy since Mike Johnson's election to Congress, according to Johnson's communications director Corinne Day.
• Johnson has faced criticism from all sides due to his comments on race which often include references to his experiences of raising Michael.
• Officially, the Johnsons did not formally adopt Michael due to the lengthy adoption process.
• Johnson has often spoken publicly about Michael, linking him to conversations about race, and even likened the experience of raising him to the movie 'The Blind Side'.

3 Articles

Business Insider The Daily Beast Newsweek