Activists made a life-size Ron Johnson statue out of poop to protest his views on climate change

Members of NextGen PAC and MoveOn created the statue in response to Johnson calling climate change "bulls**t"

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published September 29, 2022 6:00PM (EDT)

The art piece that highlights Senator Ron Johnson's views on climate change is being unveiled during MoveOn Press Conference and Rally on September 29, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for MoveOn)
The art piece that highlights Senator Ron Johnson's views on climate change is being unveiled during MoveOn Press Conference and Rally on September 29, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for MoveOn)

Activists associated with NextGen PAC and MoveOn have created a six-foot-tall, 80-pound statue in the likeness of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). As a direct response to Johnson's recent comments calling climate change "bulls**t," the statue is made out of poop.

"The people in Wisconsin deserve a senator who believes in climate change and won't take money from the fossil fuel industry to get richer himself," Tweets NextGen PAC. "That's why we joined @MoveOn in Milwaukee today to call out Ron Johnson's bullsh*t... literally."

In June 2021, Johnson blew his own claims that he was not a climate change denier when a video surfaced of him telling a Republican group how he really felt about the matter.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think climate change is – as Lord Monckton said – bullsh*t," Johnson said. "By the way, it is."

The comment was made at the Republican Women of Greater Wisconsin Luncheon at Alioto's in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, according to CNN. In a statement made after the remarks were brought to the public's attention, Johnson said "My statements are consistent. I am not a climate change denier, but I also am not a climate change alarmist. Climate is not static. It has always changed and always will change." 


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The Johnson poop statue, crafted by a Colorado manure artist, has been making its rounds in a series of events held by NextGen PAC and MoveOn as they lobby to unseat the Republican Senator. 

"Young people are fired up because they understand the urgency of the climate crisis and are hungry for change," Sonja Chojnacki, the Wisconsin state director of NextGen PAC said in a quote to HuffPost. "We are ready to roll up our sleeves and get people to the polls. Ron Johnson must go!"


By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Nights and Weekends Editor covering daily news, politics and culture. Her work has been featured in Vulture, The A.V. Club, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, Vice, and elsewhere.

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