Benny Johnson faced widespread backlash on Twitter after claiming that Native American reservations were an example of socialism “failing” in action in the United States.
Dear Socialists,
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 15, 2019
Do you want socialism in America?
Guess what?
We already have it.
Just travel to an Indian Reservation.
You will see the realities of complete & total government dependence.
Go. I dare you.
We did @TPUSA pic.twitter.com/vytDYnKEKd
Johnson said reservations were an example of “complete & total government dependence” in a tweet which was accompanied by a video before tagging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)—a self-described democratic socialist.
Johnson, a former reporter for the Daily Caller, now works as chief creative officer for the pro-Trump, conservative student organization Talking Points USA.
The highly partisan and outright inaccurate take was quickly corrected by users who slammed Johnson for his dismissal of Native American genocide.
https://twitter.com/SaltyLilOjibwe/status/1107114831818170368
https://twitter.com/weyodi/status/1107332176033439744
https://twitter.com/catcherinthesty/status/1107870416280997889
Nobody checked the history of North American tribespeople? The government didn’t subsidize them as much as murdered millions of them, shunned the rest from white society, downsized them, stole the best land, and when minerals were needed the gov. stole & poisoned more land.
— Edward T. Babinski (@edwardtbabinski) March 15, 2019
Some Twitter users questioned the authenticity of the video shared with the tweet, which featured an unnamed woman who identifies herself as a Native American.
And the woman in the video is a #pretendian. She’s as Native as Elizabeth Warren.
— SoutheastNative (@SoutheastNative) March 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/heather28df/status/1107375300487217152
Others, seemingly aware of Johnson’s career history, were unsurprised at such a take
hey buzzfeed boy what's it like being one of the genuinely stupidest people to ever draw breath on the planet
— Goth Ms. Frizzle (@spookperson) March 19, 2019
Johnson first gained notoriety in 2014 after being fired by BuzzFeed after being accused of multiple instances of plagiarism. He then established himself on the right as a conservative social media personality, working at several publications before landing his current role at Turning Point USA.