Johnson condemns to condemn Islamophobic comments

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Tuesday declined to condemn Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) for saying that "Muslims don't belong in American society."

"Look, there's a lot of energy in the country, and a lot of popular sentiment, that the demand to impose Sharia law in America is a serious problem," he said at a press conference during House Republicans' policy retreat at Trump Doral in Florida. "That's what animates me."

Rep. Ogles's social media post on Monday also declared that "Pluralism is a lie," adding in a later post that Islam leads to "rape," "beheadings" and "burning people alive."

Democrats quickly condemned the remarks as clearly Islamophobic.

"Andy Ogles is a malignant clown and pathological liar who has fabricated his whole life story," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) responded on social media. "Disgusting Islamophobes like you do not belong in Congress or in civilized society."

Speaker Johnson said it was not the language he would have used but defended the sentiment, claiming that the "demand to impose Sharia law in America is a serious problem."

"We respect everyone's beliefs and their right to live out their beliefs and to speak freely about their beliefs and have that conviction. But when you seek to come to a country and not assimilate but to impose Sharia law … that is the conflict that people are talking about," he told reporters.

"It's not about people as Muslims. It is about people who seek to impose a different belief system that is in direct conflict with the Constitution. That's where I think that comes from."