Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said he won’t be backing any candidate for president in 2024 because his previous endorsement caused “an incredible amount of division in our country.”
In an interview with “Fox & Friends Weekends” aired on Friday, the “Fast & Furious” star admitted that he regrets publicly supporting candidate Joe Biden over President Donald Trump four years ago.
“The endorsement that I made years ago with Biden was one I thought was the best decision for me at that time,” he told Fox News Will Cain.
“I realize now going into this election, I will not do that,” he continued. “My goal is to bring this country together.”
“I will keep my politics to myself. It is between me and the ballot box,” said the WWE legend-turned-Hollywood A-lister. “Like a lot of us out there not trusting of all politicians, I do trust the American people and whoever they vote for that is my president and who I will support one hundred percent.”
When asked if he was happy with the current state of America, Mr. Johnson said he wasn’t, although he has confidence in the American people’s ability to improve the situation.
“Am I happy with the state of America right now? Well that answer’s no,” he told Mr. Cain. “Do I believe we are going to get better? I believe in that, I’m an optimistic guy and I believe we can get better.”
Mr. Johnson, the most-followed man on social media in the world leading up to the 2020 presidential election, said he will exercise greater caution in leveraging his political influence as a celebrity.
In 2020, Mr. Johnson endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden and then-California Sen. Kamala Harris, calling the pair “the best to lead our country.” This marked a dramatic departure from his longstanding practice of abstaining from political endorsements, a move that stunned his 200 million Instagram followers and was prominently featured on the Biden campaign website—along with supporting remarks from other celebrities including Beyoncé, Kesha, and Alex Rodriguez.
“I thought back then ... I’m in this position where I have some influence and it’s my job to exercise my influence,” the 51-year-old megastar told Mr. Cain, reflecting on his first-time-ever political endorsement, which had set off a wave of polarized reactions on social media.
The reflection comes as there is no doubt that the fall election will feature a rematch between President Biden and former President Trump, with the former struggling with falling approval ratings while the latter faces numerous legal troubles. This time, Mr. Johnson said, he will keep his politics to myself and ultimately trust the voters’ judgment.
“Am I going to do it again this year? That answer’s no,” he said.
“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.”
“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,” he continued, vowing to not make the divisive move again.
“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,” said Mr. Johnson, who is preparing for the 40-year-anniversary edition of WWE Wrestlemania.
“In the spirit of that, there’s gonna be no endorsement,” he reiterated. “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.”
