We are celebrating America’s 250th birthday this year.
But it seems as if some on the left are clueless about our basic founding principles and documents. You might not believe MS Now’s Katy Tur said what she said here if you didn’t actually hear her say it.
God talk is SO foreign to MS NOW. Katy Tur: What about this passage from Mike Johnson declaring that our rights do not derive from government? They come from you, our creator and heavenly father. Is this him putting God over the Declaration of Independence?
McKay Coppins: I… pic.twitter.com/sfpykN5bYc— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) May 18, 2026
Tur said:
“What about this passage from Mike Johnson declaring that our rights do not derive from government? They come from you, our Creator and our heavenly father. Is this him putting God over the Declaration of Independence?”
Then, The Atlantic writer, McKay Coppins, replied:
“I actually think that that idea is not wholly uncommon. 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. That idea is not totally abnormal.”
Then he manages to move that into how people talk about “spiritual battle,” and how that can be “dangerous.”
Wow. They truly freak out at any religious mention. How can Tur be that ignorant? And amusing to call the thought “not wholly uncommon” or “not totally abnormal” when it’s fundamental to our founding.
Enter Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-04) with the lesson for Tur and MS Now.
🚨Wow. Newsflash to MS Now:
The 2nd paragraph of the Declaration literally proclaims the self-evident truth that our rights come from our Creator. https://t.co/Wb4ndNW2jI
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) May 19, 2026
Wow. Newsflash to MS Now: The 2nd paragraph of the Declaration literally proclaims the self-evident truth that our rights come from our Creator.
Quoting from the Declaration is not “putting God above it.”
How does someone who is an alleged “news” host not understand that basic fact about the Declaration of Independence? And whether you believe in a “Creator” or not, they are still innate rights that don’t derive from the government. Of course, all of that may be a big challenge to some Democrats who seem to think everything comes from the government.
READ MORE: The Founders Museum Is an Inspired Addition to the Launch of America 250 Celebrations
Let’s Bring Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving (and the Bible) Back
Is it any wonder that the left doesn’t understand America when this is what they are being fed? And Tur went to a private school and the University of California at Santa Barbara — did they completely miss teaching on our foundations? She received a B.A. in philosophy — you’d think she might have a passing familiarity with the concept of natural rights.
As we celebrate our 250th birthday, it’s evident that many on the left could use some lessons about the nature of our government — from the Declaration of Independence to why we have an Electoral College, and why we are a Republic and not a pure democracy.
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