Dwayne Johnson, long thought to have presidential ambitions of his own, announced his choice for president and vice president on Sunday. He announced his decision on social media, in a video that documented his decision making process, and a virtual conversation with the candidates.
Johnson introduced the conversation, saying: “I’m going to be pushing this political conversation just a little bit more. Look, I’ve got friends in all parties, but the one thing we can always agree on is the conversation and the dialogue, and where that conversation lands is always the most critical part. Now, this is something that I’ve certainly not done in the past, so I’m going to go big. You guys know me, if I go, I go big! So guys I had the opportunity to sit down with Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris to talk about a number of important issues we’re facing as a country. I thought it was a great and extremely productive conversation. As a registered Independent for years now with centrist ideologies, I do feel that Vice President Biden and Sen. Harris are the best choice to lead our country, and I am endorsing them to become president and vice president of our United States.”
Johnson moved onto what he sees as their strengths and qualifications. “You’ve led, in my opinion, with great compassion and heart and drive, but also soul,” he said of Biden.
To Harris, Johnson said: “You’ve been an attorney, a district attorney, a state attorney, a U.S. senator, smart, tough – I’ve seen you in those hearings – and, in my opinion, you are a certified bada–.”
He asked them: “Joe, you and I have talked about the relationship that you had with your father. This idea of respect and earning respect that our parents have taught us. My dad always said, 'Respect is given when it is earned.' How will the both of you earn the respect of all the American people once you're in the White House?”
Biden said: “By doing what we say we're going to do. By keeping our word. By leveling with the American people. By taking responsibility. When we fail, acknowledge it. We're not going to be perfect, but take responsibility. Say, 'This is what I'm going to do, this is what I believe and tell the truth.' That sounds so basic, but the American people are strong, they're tough, they can take anything if you level with them, and tell the truth,” he said. “And one of the ways we're going to do it is to demonstrate we mean what we say. Our administration, DJ, is going to look like America. It's going to be representative of all of America.”
Harris echoed Biden's theme of honesty, telling Johnson: “As we know, the nature of trust is that, like Joe was saying and as you've said, it's a reciprocal relationship. You give and you receive trust. And one of the foundations of trust is truth. You must speak truth but here's the reality: truth can sometimes be really difficult to hear and for that reason sometimes people don't speak it. But you cannot have trust if you don't speak truth. You know that as a parent, we know that as parents, you have to speak truth. And as long as there is an understanding that it is being spoken not to confront, not to hurt, but to deal with things, the way they must be handled. That has to be part of the core of what we do as we go forward because to your point, we're facing as a country so many challenges and people are grieving. I mean, people are grieving the loss of life, the loss of jobs, the loss of certainty, the loss of normalcy and to heal and get through this we're gonna have to be honest about what healing will require. That's one of the things that Joe and I really do have in common, which is we're motivated by healing, but we know to do that, we have to be honest about what it's going to take.”
Several celebrities, including Stephen Curry, Eva Longoria, Kerry Washington and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, have endorsed Biden, and even made appearances at the virtual Democratic convention in August.
On Tuesday, Biden and Trump will hold their first presidential debate. Fox News‘ Chris Wallace will moderate.
