Johnson warns America is in 'battle' against Marxism, calls for renewed focus on nation's founding principles

FIRST ON FOX: House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., warned Friday that the United States is engaged in a "battle" against Marxism, arguing the ideology is gaining traction as Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates notch a string of high-profile primary victories this midterm cycle.Speaking at the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Summit in San Diego, Johnson framed the nation's 250th anniversary as an opportunity to push back against what he described as growing socialist influence and renew appreciation for America's founding principles."We are in a confrontation, in a battle against a very dark philosophy — Marxism, and its deviations, communism and socialism," Johnson said."You see, the problem that I tell university students is, this formula that Lincoln later articulated in the Gettysburg Address, we're dedicated to this proposition that we are one nation under God, and that a government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."SOCIALISM’S RISE INSIDE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY NOW THREATENS THE AMERICAN DREAMHouse Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks at the Alliance Defending Freedom Summit on Friday.

(Fox News Digital)The ADF Summit is an annual conference that brings together leaders in law, government, business, media, education and the Christian community to discuss religious freedom, free speech, and other public policy issues.In addition to Johnson, West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey, who successfully argued and won a Supreme Court case, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador, conservative influencer Allie Beth Stuckey and Admiral Brian Christine, who serves as Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), also attended.Johnson went on to describe an illustration he says he often uses while speaking on college campuses, arguing that America's founders grounded individual rights in God rather than government.He contended that abandoning that principle leads to soc...