Esquire<\/a>\u00a0for the magazine\u2019s Summer Issue cover story, the 54-year-old actor and professional wrestler explained why he decided to keep his political views private.<\/p>\n\u201cWhat I have learned through experience is that I need to keep \u2014 need, not want \u2014 the main thing the main thing,\u201d the \u201cMoana\u201d star said. \u201cAnd the main thing for me, the thing that in the morning I swing my legs out of bed and I run towards, is creating. It\u2019s art. It\u2019s storytelling. I\u2019ve learned I\u2019m going to keep my\u00a0politics\u00a0to myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson continued, \u201cThere are moments when, \u2018Hey, there\u2019s nothing we can\u2019t talk about. If I\u2019m wrong, I\u2019ll tell you I\u2019m wrong. Or if I feel like I got a leg up and this is the right way to go, I\u2019ll share it with you.’\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPolitics is omnipresent and it\u2019s forever,\u201d he added. \u201cI don\u2019t like it. I hate it at times.\u00a0I hate the slinging. I hate all the bulls\u2014 that comes with it.\u201d<\/p>\nDwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson is distancing himself from Hollywood\u2019s culture of political activism, expressing his frustration with the \u201cslinging\u201d and \u201cbulls\u2014\u201d he views as dominating public debate. REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nJohnson\u2019s remarks came after he was asked about Bruce Springsteen\u2019s recent criticism of President\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0during his \u201cLand of Hope and Dreams Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since launching the tour in March, Springsteen, 76, has repeatedly unleashed blistering attacks on Trump during his concerts.<\/p>\n
After being told about Springsteen\u2019s \u201covertly political\u201d show, Johnson said his immediate reaction was that the rock icon and the president should have a conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause when I hear you talk about\u00a0Springsteen, who I love, and this idea that he\u2019s speaking directly to Trump in his concerts, my first thought as you were telling me that, in my head, I went, \u2018Oh, then why don\u2019t they talk? They should sit down and talk,’\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI don\u2019t know where that goes, but I do know that\u2019s an important step.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cWhat I have learned through experience is that I need to keep \u2014 need, not want \u2014 the main thing the main thing,\u201d the \u201cMoana\u201d star said. \u201cAnd the main thing for me, the thing that in the morning I swing my legs out of bed and I run towards, is creating. It\u2019s art. It\u2019s storytelling. I\u2019ve learned I\u2019m going to keep my\u00a0politics\u00a0to myself.\u201d Taya Gray\/The Desert Sun \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nJohnson, who identifies as an Independent, made his first endorsement of a political candidate during the 2020 election, backing former President\u00a0Joe Biden\u00a0in his race against Trump.<\/p>\n
While speaking with \u201cFox & Friends\u201d host Will Cain in April 2024, Johnson explained why he would not be endorsing a candidate in the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe endorsement that I made\u00a0years ago with Biden was what I thought was the best decision for me at that time,\u201d Johnson told Cain.<\/p>\nSince launching the tour in March, Springsteen, 76, has repeatedly unleashed blistering attacks on Trump during his concerts. AP Photo\/Charles Sykes<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cAm I going to do that again this year? That answer\u2019s no. I\u2019m not going to do that,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause what I realized that what that caused back then was something that tears me up in my guts back then and now, which is division. And that got me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe takeaway after that months and months and months, I started to realize like, \u2018Oh man, that caused an incredible amount of\u00a0division in our country.\u2019 So I realize now going into this election, I\u2019m not going to do that. I wouldn\u2019t do that because my goal is to bring our country together. I believe in that, in my DNA. So in the spirit of that, there\u2019s going to be no endorsement,\u201d Johnson continued.<\/p>\nJohnson, who identifies as an Independent, made his first endorsement of a political candidate during the 2020 election, backing former President\u00a0Joe Biden\u00a0in his race against Trump. Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cNot that I\u2019m afraid of it at all, but it\u2019s just I realize that this level of influence \u2014 I\u2019m gonna keep my politics to myself, and I think it\u2019s between me and the ballot box,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Following a widely criticized debate performance in June 2024, Biden ended his reelection campaign in July and endorsed Vice President\u00a0Kamala Harris\u00a0as the Democratic nominee. Harris was later defeated by Trump when he won a second term in November 2024.<\/p>\n
Johnson previously condemned the July 2024\u00a0assassination attempt\u00a0against Trump and praised the president\u2019s defiant response afterward.<\/p>\nThe New York Post\u2019s front page featured Trump survived an assassination attempt in July 2024. Paola Morrongiello \/ NY Post Design<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nJohnson previously condemned the July 2024\u00a0assassination attempt\u00a0against Trump and praised the president\u2019s defiant response afterward. POOL via CNP\/INSTARimages.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cWhether you love Donald, don\u2019t love Donald, it doesn\u2019t matter. They tried to assassinate him. There\u2019s no room for that. Despite it being who we were in that moment, I still believe in my core that is not who we are as a country. So him standing up at that moment, we wanted to see that,\u201d Johnson said while appearing as a keynote speaker at The Value Conference in September 2024.<\/p>\n
He also noted that Trump was a fan of his wrestling career and had attended his fights in\u00a0New York City.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe used to come watch me wrestle all the time at Madison Square Garden. It was great. First time I saw him, he said \u2018let me see the eyebrows,\u2019\u201d the \u201cJumanji\u201d star joked, referencing a popular meme regarding his eyebrow.<\/p>\n
During his interview with Cain, Johnson shared his thoughts on\u00a0cancel culture.<\/p>\nJohnson said he\u2019s come to learn that being \u201creal\u201d and honest is more important than worrying about being canceled.\u00a0 Robert Hanashiro \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cTo be real and to be direct and to be open and to be transparent\u2026.that\u2019s important to me,\u201d he explained. \u201cIn today\u2019s easy\u00a0cancel culture world and cancel\u00a0culture, woke culture, this culture, that culture division, etc., that really bugs me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson said he\u2019s come to learn that being \u201creal\u201d and honest is more important than worrying about being canceled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou either succumb and be what you think other people want you to be, or you go, \u2018No, that\u2019s not who I am. I\u2019m going to be myself and I\u2019m going to be real.\u2019 If you ask me something, a real answer is important, and\u00a0the\u00a0truthful answer is important, and that may get people upset and may p\u2014 people off. And that\u2019s okay,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it took me some time to recognize that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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