Robert Johnson praises Donald Trump for economy and Black unemployment

Source: The Washington Post / Getty

Robert Johnson Credits Trump With Economy And Black Unemployment Decline

The founder of BET, Robert Johnson sounds like he’s ’bout to go full MAGA any minute now.

According to CNBC, a juvenile Johnson recently lamented that partisan politics has become “very wicked and very mean” during an appearance on CNBC’s Hadley Gamble show.

“The party in my opinion, for me personally, has moved too far to the left,” Johnson, the founder of cable network BET and RLJ Companies business network, told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble Tuesday.

“And for that reason, I don’t have a particular candidate (I’m supporting) in the party at this time,” he said. “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.”

Although Johnson describes himself as a centrist Democrat and supported Hillary Clinton in 2016, he has no qualms about prostrating himself before Donald Trump and falsely singing his praises:

“I think the economy is doing great, and it’s reaching populations that heretofore had very bad problems in terms of jobs and employments and the opportunities that come with employment … so African-American unemployment is at its lowest level,” Johnson said.

“I give the president a lot of credit for moving the economy in a positive direction that’s benefiting a large amount of Americans,” he said. “I think the tax cuts clearly helped stimulate the economy. I think business people have more confidence in the way the economy is going.”

Trump previously retweeted a 2018 post noting that Johnson said his “economy is bringing black workers into the labor force.”

Johnson made no mention of the fact that African-American unemployment rates dropped consistently during the Obama administration. His red hat must be in the mail.

Asked about Trump’s style of leadership —considered divisive by many in America and beyond — Johnson remarked that Trump has “got his own style,” though he perhaps needs to “step back a little bit from some of his showmanship.”

“A lot of people are not going to like that style,” he said, “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.”

You hear that sound? That’s Robert Johnson’s clown nose honking.