The Rock Just Did Something He's Never Done Before
The lead-up to the 2020 election has voters on both sides of the political spectrum speaking out about their plans for the polls. One such voter is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who just made a presidential endorsement for the first time ever. The Rock endorsed Joe Biden on Sept. 27, 2020, sharing a video on Twitter about why he supports Biden and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris.
In the video, Johnson called the 2020 election "the most critical election our country has seen in decades," so it makes sense that he's choosing now to break his political silence. Some fans responded to Johnson's tweet by asking him why he's not running for office himself, while others thanked him for his endorsement. And some fans expressed their disappointment with his choice of candidate — but it doesn't seem like the actor and retired wrestler will be too bothered by the critics in his replies.
The Rock is a 'registered independent' who has 'centrist ideologies'
In a tweet endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, Dwayne Johnson explained that he's voted for candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties in elections past. But this year, he's supporting the Democratic ticket and hoping that his followers will do the same.
"I've got friends in all parties, but the one thing that we can always agree on is the conversation and the dialogue, and where that conversation lands is always the most critical part," Johnson said in his Twitter video posted on Sept. 27, 2020. He went on to explain why, in this critical election year, he's supporting Biden.
"I had the opportunity to sit down with Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris to talk about a number of important issues that we're facing as a country," the Fighting with My Family star said in the video. "As a registered independent for years now with centrist ideologies, I do feel that Vice President Biden and Senator Harris are the best choice to lead our country, and I am endorsing them to become president and vice president of our United States."
Here's why The Rock didn't vote in the 2016 election
Dwayne Johnson is taking a stand against President Trump, endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris in the 2020 election. But four years ago, the Baywatch star didn't vote. "At the time, I just felt like it was either vote for the [candidate] I thought would make a better president than the other, even though I would rather have someone else, or not vote at all," Johnson said to Rolling Stone in 2018. "I wrestled back and forth with it. We were on the set of Jumanji in Hawaii, and it really was like calling on the gods. Give me the answer. Ultimately, it was [to not vote]."
And while some fans may not be happy with Johnson's sitting the last election out, he's staying true to something else he said in the 2018 interview. "The next elections, in 2020, I think I'll be a little bit more vocal in who I support," Johnson told Rolling Stone at the time. And with his new endorsement of the Biden-Harris ticket, he's doing just that.
Ryan Reynolds made a joke about The Rock's presidential endorsement
If you've heard of Rock the Vote, a nonprofit organization that encourages young people to vote in U.S. elections, you probably know where this is going. Ryan Reynolds responded to Dwayne Johnson's tweet by sharing a link to the Rock the Vote website, along with a simple hashtag: #DwaynetheVote. (The joke, of course, is that "Rock" is already in the wrestler and actor's ring name.)
While The Rock's announcement is first foray into political endorsements, Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively, have been vocal about politics in the past. Last September, Reynolds and Lively donated $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and another $1 million to the Young Center for Immigrant Children, where they created a fund to help defend immigrant children.
Reynolds is Canadian, but he's spoken out about President Trump in the past. "I can understand so much of the fear that comes from this huge portion of the population that's going to feel disenfranchised and that's experiencing a tremendous amount of anxiety about their future," the Detective Pikachu star said to Variety in December 2016. "Minority groups, women, LGBTQ communities — those are all communities that I think are rightfully very afraid for the moment, and I'm afraid with them and for them."
Reynolds and Lively don't support Trump, and it looks like Reynolds is happy to see his fellow actor taking a stand, too.