Democratic Media Mogul Praises Trump, Dumps Democrats for Moving 'Too Far Left'
Black Entertainment Television founder gives president 'A-plus' for economy, unemployment
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Democratic media mogul Robert Johnson has announced he is dumping the Democrats and won't be backing any 2020 Dems in the primary campaign because the entire party has drifted from the center to the far left.
"The party in my opinion, for me personally, has moved too far to the left," Black Entertainment Television founder Johnson told CNBC on Tuesday.
"And for that reason, I don’t have a particular candidate in the party [to support] at this time," he added.
"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."
In the 2016 presidential election, Johnson backed Hillary Clinton but has since come to admire some of President Donald Trump's economic priorities.
Johnson is now praising the "positive direction" Trump is taking America, especially his policies that have driven unemployment rates down.
"You've got to give the president an A-plus for that," he said.
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"I give the president a lot of credit for moving the economy in a positive direction that’s benefiting a large amount of Americans," Johnson explained.
"I think the tax cuts clearly helped stimulate the economy.
"I think businesspeople have a little bit more confidence in the way the economy is going, and I think it's beginning to have some impact globally."
Describing America's current economy as "great," Johnson said prosperity under President Trump is "reaching populations that heretofore had very bad problems in terms of jobs and employment and the opportunities that come with employment."
He also notes that "African-American unemployment is at its lowest level. Hispanic unemployment. Women."
Without suggesting that he might publicly support the president, Johnson did complain about "very wicked and very mean" partisanship that captures most of the political energy in the United States.
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"There's really no give or take in terms of trying to come to an understanding of how best to run the country."
Still, he acknowledges that Trump has "got his own style," declining to condemn the president's leadership choices that his opponents criticize as grating and divisive.
Ultimately, Johnson says the president should "step back a little bit from some of his showmanship."
"A lot of people are not going to like that style, but when he says he’s going to try to do something economically, you have to give him credit for taking some specific steps to do that."
