Billionaire businessman and media mogul Bob Johnson has long identified as a Democrat but now says the party has grown much too liberal for his liking.
“The party in my opinion, for me personally, has moved too far to the left,” Johnson, the founder of cable network BET, told CNBC on Tuesday. ““And for that reason, I don’t have a particular candidate (I’m supporting) in the party at this time.”
Bob Johnson, the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, credited Donald Trump for moving the economy “in a positive direction.” (Photo by Ron Adar/Getty Images)
“I think at the end of the day, if a Democrat is going to beat Trump, then that person, he or she, will have to move to the center — and you can’t wait too long to do that,” he added.
Johnson, a self-described centrist, was a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, but has more recently expressed support for some of Donald Trump‘s policies, according to the outlet. He pointed to the economy specifically, and credited Trump for moving the economy “in a positive direction.”
“I think the economy is doing great, and it’s reaching the populations that heretofore had very bad problems in terms of jobs and employments and the opportunities that come with employment … and so African-American unemployment is at its lowest level, ” Johnson said.
The mogul, who became the nation’s first Black billionaire after selling BET to Viacom in 2001, argued that the recent tax cuts have helped stimulate the economy, giving entrepreneurs like himself more “confidence” about where the nation’s economy is headed.
Johnson, however, griped that American politics has become rife with partisanship, thus making it harder for Trump and the Democrats to reach an understanding on how best to run the country.
“If business people are concerned about anything, it’s the clear, clear partisan politics that’s become very wicked and very mean,” he told CNBC. And that’s not helping the American people, and it’s not helping America as a global nation.”
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