The Rock has never openly endorsed a politician before. Photo / Getty Images
The Rock has never openly endorsed a politician before. Photo / Getty Images
Actor and WWE legend Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has waded into the US presidential race, endorsing Joe Biden over Donald Trump.
Celebrity endorsements are nothing new in politics but this is the first time Johnson, a registered independent voter, has ever endorsed a presidential candidate.
He made the announcement in a seven-minute video posted on his social media accounts today. At the time of writing, it had been viewed 7.2 million times on Twitter and 4.2 million times on Instagram.
"We are approximately five weeks away from election day. Arguably the most critical election our country has seen in decades," Johnson, clad in a skin-tight sweater and aviator sunglasses, told the camera.
It wasn't quite as weird a scene as that time a topless Arnold Schwarzenegger lectured people about social distancing while puffing on a cigar in his hot tub, but we're in the same genre here.
"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," Johnson continued.
"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."
The Rock revealed he had spoken to both Biden and his vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris about "a number of important issues" America was facing.
"I thought it was a great and extremely productive conversation that we had, and 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," he said.
The video then cut to footage of Johnson's interview with Biden and Harris, which started with him showering them with praise.
"Joe, you've had such an incredible career. You've led, in my opinion, with great compassion and heart and drive, but also soul," he told the former vice president.
"You and I have talked about that in the past, and how important soul is."
He ran through Harris's resume, which you can read more about here if you're interested.
"You have been an attorney, a district attorney, a state attorney, a US senator. Smart, tough – I've seen you in those hearings. And in my opinion, you are a certified badass," he said.
"I am honoured, and thank you for that. That's a huge compliment from you," Harris responded.
"How will you earn the respect of all the American people once you're in that White House?" Johnson asked the Democratic nominee.
"By doing what we say we're going to do. By keeping our word. By levelling with the American people. By taking responsibility," said Biden.
"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."
Johnson threw the same question to Harris, who delivered a similar answer.
"It's about trust, right? And 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," she said.
"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.
"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."
Harris was quite obviously alluding to Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
In his recent book, Watergate journalist Bob Woodward revealed Trump had told him he deliberately "played down" the threat of the virus because he did not want to "cause panic".
"You mentioned the word 'decency'. You mentioned the word 'respect' and 'honesty', dealing with this. But it's also – it leads right into making progress, but through a humanity. And how important that progress is, but through humanity," said Johnson.
The video then cut back to him on the grass in his aviators.
"Truth and progress through humanity. I like the tie-in there," he said.
"Because as we all seek the truth, and as we all want to do our best to speak truthfully to each other, it's not to confront, it's not to hurt, but it's to make progress.
"To me, there's a lot of ways that we as a human race can make progress, but the most powerful way for us to make progress, for me, is through humanity, is through decency.
"Progress through kindness. Because kindness matters. I appreciate you guys joining me in this conversation here, and there is much more to come."
In the caption, Johnson stressed that he had voted for both Democrats and Republicans in the past, calling himself a "political independent and centrist".
He pointed his followers to a website, votesaveamerica.com, designed to help them register to vote in the election.
A few hours later, he posted a second video, this one urging people to vote even if they disagreed with him.
It featured another excerpt from his interview with Biden and Harris, in which the pair railed against Trump's recurring claim that a surge in mail voting because of the coronavirus pandemic will lead to widespread fraud.
"There's an attempt to delegitimise the vote, delegitimise absentee ballots, delegitimise voting by mail," Biden said.
"So we have to make sure the American people aren't demoralised into not voting. Your vote will count. We'll watch it. Begin to plan now, how you're going to vote, and vote early if you can."
Johnson closed out this second clip with a quote from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died earlier this month.
"'Real and enduring change happens one step at a time,'" he said.
"And guys, as we all know, voting is that powerful step."
