Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson smells what the White House is cooking and he’s not here for four more years of it.
Johnson appeared on the Friday edition of “Fox & Friends” to discuss his first return to the WWE since 2016, in this weekend’s Wrestlemania 40.
The conversation inevitably strayed into politics, as the Jumanji star has dabbled with the idea of his own White House campaign since 2016.
While speaking to Fox News’ WIll Cain, Johnson admitted that he is currently unhappy with the state of the nation under the President Joe Biden and will not be endorsing him in the upcoming election.
🚨BREAKING: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson says he regrets endorsing Joe Biden in 2020 and will not endorse him in 2024. pic.twitter.com/oP2DM5ogE5
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 5, 2024
“The endorsement that I made years ago with Biden was one I thought was the best decision for me at that time,” he began. “I thought, ‘I’m in this position where I have some influence and I felt it was my job then to exercise my influence [and] share: This is who I’m going to endorse.’ I’m not going to do that.”
Johnson lamented on his level of fame at the time and that he believes wading into politics was detrimental for the health of the nation.
“I was then, the most followed man in the world, and am today, and I appreciate that… but what that caused was something that tears me up in my guts — which is division,” he continued.
“That got me. I didn’t realize that then, I just felt like there was a lot of unrest and I’d like things to calm down.”
The Black Adam star has since learned from the error of his ways and has decided to stay away from political endorsements.
“The takeaway after that was it caused an incredible amount of division. I realize now going into this election, I will not do that,” he remarked. “My goal is to bring this country together. I believe in that. There will be no endorsement.”
“At this level of influence, I will keep my politics to myself. It is between me and the ballot box,” he wisely added.
“But I will tell you this: 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 100 percent.”
Johnson very public endorsed the Biden/Harris ticket in a lengthy video he posed on X, formerly Twitter, in September 2020.
At the time, he called the the race between Biden and former President Donald Trump “arguably the most critical election out country has seen in decades,” and chose to put his considerable weight behind the current president.
As a political independent & centrist, I’ve voted for both parties in the past. In this critical presidential election, I’m endorsing @JoeBiden & @KamalaHarris.
Progress takes courage, humanity, empathy, strength, KINDNESS & RESPECT.
We must ALL VOTE: https://t.co/rZi1mxh8DC pic.twitter.com/auLbc8xDBv
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 27, 2020
“As a political independent & centrist, I’ve voted for both parties in the past. In this critical presidential election, I’m endorsing [Biden] and [Harris],” he captioned the video. “Progress takes courage, humanity, empathy, strength, KINDNESS & RESPECT.”
Johnson told Cain that he wasn’t happy with the current state of the country. “Today’s cancel culture, woke culture, division, etc — that really bugs me,” he remarked.
“In the spirit of that, you either succumb to that and be what other people want you to be, or you be yourself and be real … and that might make people upset and piss people off, and that’s okay.”
The actor was also asked if he ever planned to run for the nation’s highest office himself. “No, that’s not my intention. I’m not a politician.”
His answer was a departure from the ones he has given in interviews dating back to 2016, when he told Vanity Fair that he “wouldn’t rule” out a White House run in the future.
By 2017, he told Ellen Degeneres that he was “seriously considering” a presidential campaign, which only seemed to compound by 2021, when 46% of people polled said that they would support him in an election.
In November of last year, he revealed to Trevor Noah that he was approached by both sides of the aisle and told he could be a “real contender” if he chose to enter the 2024 presidential election.
“I was really blown away, and I was really honored. I’ll share this little bit with you: at the end of the year in 2022, I got a visit from the parties asking me if I was going to run and if I could run,” he said about the ordeal.
Though he noted that his “goal has never been to be in politics,” and admitted that “there’s a lot about politics that” he hates.
In December 2023, Johnson confirmed to the Today show that a 2024 presidential run was firmly off of the table.
“Here’s what I can tell you with 100 percent certainty and surety is that I believe in working hard controlling the controllables and putting in all the hard work with your own two hands, and being humble, hungry and grateful, kicking a** and always give back,” he stated. “That’s what I can tell you. So it’s not a no.”
A sentiment that he seemed to confirm to Fox News on Friday about a potential future presidential run, but still managed to keep the possibility open with his answer.
“I’m not a politician, and I’m not into politics. I care deeply about our country. I’m a patriot, and I believe you are too, and right now, my desire and my priorities are my babies,” he said about his young daughters.
“I also feel like, in the spirit of bringing people together and bringing our country together, I don’t know if that’s the right move at this point…I don’t know, as of now.”