MS Now anchor Katy Tur received massive backlash after seemingly not recognizing one of the most popular, well-known lines from the Declaration of Independence while having a conversation about Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on live television. Tur, 42, questioned if Johnson was elevating religion over the founding document after he made a reference to the idea that Americans are born “with certain unalienable Rights” that come from God, not the government.
“They come from you, our Creator, and Heavenly Father,” the speaker said to a crowd of people at a government-supported evangelical prayer event held in the nation’s capital. “Is this him putting God over the Declaration of Independence?” Tur went on to ask her panel on her show, Katy Tur Reports. McKay Coppins, a writer for The Atlantic, responded that the concept is fairly common throughout American political history, trying desperately to take the conversation back to the broader debate.
“Well, you know, I actually think that idea is not wholly uncommon,” Coppins answered. “I mean, the idea that we have certain inalienable rights that come from God can be read in a fairly benign way, which is basically that we have innate human rights that our constitution and our government, our democratic government, are meant to codify, right?”
“The idea is not totally abnormal,” he continued. As the clip hit social media and quickly went viral, Johnson saw it and decided to respond to it himself. “Wow. Newsflash to MS Now,” Johnson wrote in a post on X. “The 2nd paragraph of the Declaration literally proclaims the self-evident truth that our rights come from our Creator.”
According to a report from Trending Politics News, the speaker then shared a post from Newsbusters editor Tim Graham that said, “God talk is SO foreign to MS NOW.” Texas Rep. Mitch Little and Sen. Ted Cruz got in on the action as well. “How can @KatyTurNBC & MSDNC be so historically ignorant?” Cruz stated in a post on X. “Someone run to the gift shop and get Katy a copy, pls,” Little cracked.
The line that Tur didn’t recognize is found in the second paragraph of the Declaration. Our third president and author of the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson, stated that all men (and this includes women too) are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” The document was officially adopted in 1776 and presented the colonies’ case for separating from British rule.
Johnson used similar language during the national prayer gathering connected to the upcoming 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, stating that it should serve as a reminder of the nation’s roots in moral and religious principles. “You gave our fathers the wisdom and faith to establish this new nation, premised on the Biblical and foundational principle that all men are created equal and free before you,” Johnson told the crowd.
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“Through Your divine providence, our Founders acknowledged and boldly proclaimed this self-evident truth: That every single person is created in your image and that we are endowed by you, our Creator, with our unalienable rights to life and liberty. The pursuit of happiness,” Johnson said.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video