Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has recently expressed some regret for endorsing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the 2020 presidential election, claiming that he won’t show support for any candidates going into this year’s presidential race.
In a recent interview with Fox News’ political commentator Will Cain, Johnson explained that he will not be endorsing any presidential candidates this upcoming election, going through some of the reasons he deemed necessary to use his influence to support Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020.
“It took me some time to recognize that,” Johnson said of the level of influence he found himself having as his popularity rose. “At first I was, in a way, adverse to fame and I didn’t understand the power of it — how it could swing both ways.”
He elaborated, “And finally, as I got down the road a little bit, and started achieving some notoriety, a little bit of success here and there, I start to realize, ‘Oh, man, this is a superpower.'”
“The fame is a superpower when used correctly, I believe, ” Johnson continued. “When you could use it to influence people, and also use it to influence other people in terms of, again, being direct and being honest.”
Cain would fixate on this last part, pointing out that the Black Adam actor used his fame to endorse Biden and Harris in the 2020 presidential campaign, even though he never supported political candidates before the election, asking Johnson how he feels now about his decision, and whether he’s happy with the current state of America.
“Am I happy with the state of America right now? Well, that answer is ‘no,'” the actor declared, adding, “Do I believe we’re going to get better? I believe in that, I’m an optimistic guy and I believe we can get better.”
Johnson proceeded to tackle Cain’s question about his supporting of the Biden-Harris campaign, stating, “The endorsement that I made years ago with Biden was one I thought was the best decision for me at that time.”
“And I thought, back then, when we talked about, ‘Hey, you know, I’m in this position where I have some influence, and it’s my job then.’ I felt like that then,” he said. “It’s my job now to exercise my influence and share with… this is who I’m going to endorse.”
He then claimed, “Am I going to do that again this year? That answer is ‘no.’ I’m not going to do that because what I realized, and I didn’t realize it back then, Will, but I realize it today, and back then, just like I am today, very lucky, I was then the most followed American man in the world and I am today; the most followed American man in the world.”
“And I appreciate that,” Johnson admitted, noting, “But I also realize that what that caused, back then, was something that tears me up in my guts — back then and now — which is division. And that got me.”
Appearing to express regret, the Jumanji: The Next Level actor elaborated, “I didn’t realize it then, I just thought, ‘Hey, our country feels like there’s a lot of unrest, it feels like I would like things to calm down, maybe we need a change; this is what I’m going to do, and this is who I’m going to endorse.'”
“The takeaway, after that — months and months, and months — I started to realize like, ‘Oh man, that caused an incredible amount of division in our country,’ so I realize now, going into this election, I’m not going to do that,” Johnson claimed. “I wouldn’t do that because my goal is to bring our country together.”
He added, “I believe in that, in my DNA, so in the spirit of that, there’s going to be no endorsement. Not that I’m afraid of it, at all, but it’s just [that] I realize that this level of influence… I’m going to keep my politics to myself. And I think it’s between me and the ballot box.”
Interestingly, Johnson did admit that regardless of his decision, he’s willing to support the candidate that ultimately ends up winning the presidential race.
“But I will tell you this, while — like a lot of us out there, not trusting of all politicians — I do trust the American people, and I trust that whoever they vote for… that’s going to be my president and that’s who I’m going to support 100%,” the actor declared.
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With a caption that read, “As a political independent & centrist, I’ve voted for both parties in the past. In this critical presidential election, I’m endorsing [Joe Biden] & [Kamala Harris]. Progress takes ourage, humanity, empathy, strength, KINDNESS & RESPECT.
“We must ALL VOTE,” Johnson concluded his post at the time.
“I’ve never publicly endorsed a presidential candidate, or any vice-presidential candidates, in my life or my career, so I figured, ‘Let’s kick this conversation off this way by me officially [and] publicly endorsing you both to become president and vice-president of our great country,'” Johnson said at the time in a video shared to social media.