In an early April 2024, segment, some of the co-hosts on ABC’s “The View,” particularly far-left Joy Behar, went on the attack against WWE personality and actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson after he said that he wouldn’t endorse Joe Biden again in the 2024 election because of how badly things have gone under his watch.
As background, during an early April interview with Fox News Channel’s Will Cain on “Fox & Friends,” Johnson indicated that he regrets endorsing Biden in 2020 and said that he won’t do so again in this election cycle. Beginning, he told Cain, “Am I happy with the state of America right now? Well, that answer’s no. Do I believe we’re gonna get better? I believe in that. I’m an optimistic guy. And I believe we can get better.”
Continuing, Johnson said, “The endorsement that I made years ago with Biden was what 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 it’s my job now to exercise my influence and share with this is who I’m going to endorse. Am I going to do that again this year? That answer’s no.”
Predictably, the far-left co-hosts on “The View” were furious about that. After the show played the clip of Johnson saying he wouldn’t endorse Biden again, the audience loudly booed Johnson. When the audience quieted down, Behar then said that no one should listen to him because he spoke to Fox News and that she thinks celebrities should stay quiet about politics.
Pushing back somewhat on that was Anna Navarro, who argued that actors don’t lose their rights as citizens, such as the right to speak out about politics, just because they’re popular. She added that Johnson has generally been known for supporting voting generally, rather than for supporting any one party or candidate in particular.
After Behar’s comments and Navarro’s slight pushback, similarly leftist co-host Sunny Hostin went on the attack against Johnson, saying that Trump is an “existential threat to democracy” and so someone with a large following and platform, such as The Rock, have an “obligation” to be active in the political process and use that platform to speak out against former President Donald Trump.
Beginning, she said, “I do think we’re living in a time where we have someone running for president that is an existential threat to democracy, right? That is where we are at, someone who has been — has 88, you know, criminal charges, four indictments, someone that has vowed to be a dictator on the very first day he takes office.”
Continuing, she claimed that those with platforms have an obligation to use them against Trump, saying, “Now is the time if you have a platform, you must be active. You must speak out. That’s how I feel, and I generally don’t — I generally don’t think that celebrities should be forced to be politically active. But right now, if you have a platform, you have an obligation.”
Pushing back somewhat, Alyssa Farrah Griffin said, “I don’t know that The Rock has a core constituency, it’s not like Republicans or Democrats are waiting to hear what he said.” She added, “The most important thing he can do is encourage those to get out and vote.”
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