No need to fear, America: Right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson is here to solve America’s housing crisis.
Yes, this is the same Johnson who posted an AI video last month of him dressed as Batman punching immigrants.
That didn’t stop the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank headed by Larry Kudlow, from bringing the MAGA influencer aboard to help spread the group’s Trumpy message and push their favored housing policies forward.
"Benny has 4 million followers. He is, you know, so influential. He's been talking about this a lot on his own social media platforms, and so he is the perfect person to help deliver the policies," Ashley Hayek, AFPI’s executive vice president and co-chair of the initiative, told Fox News Digital.
Related | Even MAGA minions call bullsh-t on Trump’s social media lies
AFPI aims to cut through green housing initiatives and environmental roadblocks, a talking point among conservatives, so that housing companies can build more quickly. They also promote tiny homes, because nothing says “Have more babies!” like a tiny home.
Johnson’s checkered past makes him an interesting choice for the job.
On one hand, his follower count has already come under speculation after the former BuzzFeed writer—who was fired for plagiarizing twice—had a mysterious jump, by the millions, in YouTube subscribers with no substantial viewer increase.
But Johnson himself has already garnered a reputation for playing loose with the facts in his quest to stay loyal to President Donald Trump.
When the White House selected Johnson for a “new media” seat in the press briefing room, he used that moment to spin an interesting tale.
As Trump was labeling the nation’s capital a dangerous place that he needed to send in the National Guard to set straight, Johnson was one influencer who hopped on the narrative.
“Thank you for making this city safe, because no parent should have to go through what my family went through,” Johnson said to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The day before, he was on X making claims that, according to the Times, weren’t entirely accurate.
“Here’s a mass shooting and murder in my front lawn, followed by my house being set on fire with my wife and infant child inside,” he wrote alongside an edited clip of security footage.
Johnson’s house was not set on fire and, according to the outlet, there were no murders in his neighborhood since 2017.
“We were constantly targeted for being white in a ‘black neighborhood.’ No one gave a sh*t. Judges and cops saw us as the problem. When DC Defunded their police, the city turned into a deadly war zone. Every resident was terrorized,” Johnson added. He and his family moved from the neighborhood and relocated to Tampa, Florida, in 2021.
Related | Trump team recruits influencers to push lies about ‘lawless’ cities
But despite Johnson’s many credibility-stretching moments, including (unknowingly) accepting money from Russian operatives, he remains a cult favorite among MAGA media consumers and, now, the White House.
He was even alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last month filming her as she “stare[d] down an army of ANTIFA” in Portland, Oregon.
However, a quick glance from the rooftop to the ground below showed a small group of protesters, journalists, and a man in a chicken suit.
All in all, Johnson sounds like a great fit for AFPI’s message.
After all, nothing says “make housing great again” like ignoring environmental regulations to squeeze families into tiny homes—and Johnson is the perfect peon to peddle that.
