BET founder Robert Johnson hints he prefers voting for Trump over Biden: 'Will rather take the devil I know'
Robert Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), on Wednesday, September 30, suggested that he will vote for President Donald Trump instead of Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Johnson, however, did not offer an endorsement for Trump as he said that he could not say who "won" the first presidential debate but it was clear to him that American people "lost."
Johnson, during an appearance on CNBC, said: "This was like a schoolyard fight over who had the best-looking girlfriend. It was a waste of an hour and a half that gave no guidance, no direction at all as to where the country will go after this election... Where I come out as a businessman, I will take the devil I know over the devil I don't know any time of the week. And that seems to be what business people are confronting today." When CNBC anchor Rebecca Quick pressed him on his statement, asking: "So you're endorsing Trump, President Trump?" Johnson responded with: "I'm not endorsing anybody."
"What I'm saying is if I'm a businessperson, what you want more than anything else, particularly coming out of something as horrible as this pandemic... the more you know about who will be pulling the lever of economic growth, economic development, taxes, stimulus, regulation," he said. "In my opinion, you're better off dealing with somebody you know where they're gonna be than somebody you really have no idea what decisions they will make at such a critical time. I absolutely do not know what Vice President Biden will do. I haven't heard anything coherent out of what he said he would do."
The BET founder also spoke about the Black community in the country, and acknowledged that "90+ percent" of them vote for Democrats. However, Johnson warned that "if we don't get clear and concise direction as to what the benefit of changing horses at this time are... I would rather who I'm going to deal with in the White House, I want to know what regulatory decisions they're gonna make, what fiscal policy decisions, what monetary policy decisions they're gonna make than to be taking a chance, particularly when you have the turbulence of a pandemic."
Johnson, previously, had denounced the former vice president earlier this year after Biden's "you ain't Black" remark, when he appeared to take aim at Black voters who were still between him and Trump. Johnson, while appearing on Fox News, stated: "Vice President Biden’s statement today represents the arrogant and out-of-touch attitude of a paternalistic White candidate who has the audacity to tell Black people, the descendants of slaves, that they are not Black unless they vote for him."
"This proves unequivocally that the Democratic nominee believes that Black people owe him their vote without question; even though, we as Black people know it is exactly the opposite. He should spend the rest of his campaign apologizing to every Black person he meets," he added.
The Democratic candidate was criticized by many in May this year after his appearance on the radio show 'The Breakfast Club'. Biden, during an interview with co-host Charlamagne tha God, had said: "If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black."