He endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 election, but Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson says he won’t be backing any White House hopeful ahead of November because offering his public support caused “an incredible amount of division in our country.”
“The endorsement that I made years ago with Biden was one I thought was the best decision for me at that time,” Johnson said in an interview with Fox News’s Will Cain released Friday.
“I thought back then … I’m in this position where I have some influence,” the 51-year-old “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” star said.
“I felt like that then, it’s my job now to exercise my influence and share this is who I’m going to endorse,” he said.
Johnson endorsed Biden and then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) in the 2020 race, calling the pair the “best choice to lead our country.” The move marked the first time that Johnson, the most-followed man on social media in the world, made a political endorsement.
“Am I going to do that again this year? That answer’s no,” the pro wrestler-turned-actor said in his Fox News interview.
“I also realized that what that caused back then, was something that tears me up in my gut back then and now, which is division,” he said.
“The takeaway after that — months, and months and months [later] — I started to realize like, ‘oh man, that caused an incredible amount of division in our country,'” Johnson continued, adding that history wouldn’t repeat itself.
“So I realized now going into this election, I’m not going to do that. I wouldn’t do that because my goal is to bring our country together. I believe in that in my DNA.”
“In the spirit of that, there’s gonna be no endorsement. Not that I’m afraid of it at all, but it’s just I realize that this level of influence, I’m going to keep my politics to myself. I think it’s between me and the ballot box,” Johnson said.
The WWE executive, who’s flirted with his own potential political bid over the years, added, “But I will tell you this: While like a lot of us out there are 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 percent.”