New House Speaker Mike Johnson Explains Why ‘Adopted’ Black Son Is Staying Low Profile
Rep. Mike Johnson was an obscure congressman before his sudden rise to prominence Wednesday (Oct. 25) when Republicans elected the Louisiana conservative as House Speaker. It ended weeks of turmoil after extreme right-wing GOP lawmakers ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker on Oct. 3.
One part of his personal life has raised more than a few eyebrows: Johnson’s Black “son” Michael, who does not appear in Johnson’s family photo with his four biological children.
“When Speaker Johnson first ran for Congress in 2016, he and his wife, Kelly, spoke to their son Michael—who they took in as newlyweds when Michael was 14 years old," Johnson’s communications director, Corinne Day, told Newsweek.
"At the time of the Speaker's election to Congress, Michael was an adult with a family of his own. He asked not to be involved in their new public life. The Speaker has respected that sentiment throughout his career and maintains a close relationship with Michael to this day."
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Johnson spoke with journalist Walter Isaacson about Michael in 2020, shortly after a video went viral showing white former officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck while handcuffed and face down on the ground. A jury convicted Chauvin of murder in 2021.
Michael was in his mid-30s, had four children and was living in California at the time of the interview on PBS’ Amanpour and Company. According to Johnson, Michael says that he would have joined a gang, taken drugs, wound up in prison or died if Johnson and his wife had not taken him into their home.
Floyd’s death ignited a mass racial justice movement and a national reckoning about racism. Johnson said the upheaval prompted him to compare the life trajectories of Michael at 14 and his biological son Jack, who was 14 then.
"They have different challenges. My son Jack has an easier path. He just does. The interesting thing about both of these kids, Michael and Jack, is they're both handsome, articulate, really talented kids, gifted by God to do lots of things,” Johnson said.
"But the reality is, and no one can tell me otherwise, my son Michael had a harder time than my son Jack is going to have simply because of the color of his skin. And that's a reality. It's an uncomfortable, painful one to acknowledge, but people have to recognize that's a fact."
