Robert Johnson, the founder of BET, has made news multiple times over the past few months for his repeated praise of President Donald Trump. He continued to heap adoration on the 45th president, telling CNBC on Thursday that Trump was "doing positive things."
“For African Americans, the trend continues to be favorable. There used to be an old saying, ‘When White America catches a cold, African-Americans get pneumonia.’ It’s going the opposite way now. White unemployment is going down, African-American unemployment is going down. That’s a plus-plus that you can’t argue with,” Johnson said on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
“I give the president credit for doing positive things when I see a president doing positive things, particularly for African-Americans,” he added.
Johnson was the first Black billionaire due to a number of high-profile positions and investments. He founded BET in 1980 and had the first Black-owned company to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. He also owned Charlotte's NBA team until 2010.
Forbes recently reported that he is technically no longer a billionaire after a few bad investments, decreases in his stocks and a divorce. Despite the fall, he and his ex-wife are still a part of the top 10 richest Black Americans.
Despite his longtime support for former presidential candidate Hilary Clinton, Johnson has repeatedly criticized the Democratic Party for their stance on billionaires. He made waves in the late 2000s for his harsh comments about former President Barack Obama.
Since the president's election, Johnson has praised Trump as his self-proclaimed friend. He has expressed support for Trump's economic decisions, which have sent the world's economy into a tailspin.
Johnson made a series of comments touting Trump's decision to drastically cut taxes for the rich in July, saying, "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 loved the quote, shared a video of the interview on his Twitter page and shouted him out on Twitter.
Robert Johnson, B.E.T. “I give the President a lot of credit for moving the Economy in a positive direction that’s benefiting a large number of Americans. I think the Tax Cuts clearly helped stimulate the Economy. Overall, if you look at the U.S. Economy, and you look at…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019
….the number of people who are no longer looking for jobs but who are now seeing the opportunity for job growth, you’ve got to give the President an A Plus for that.” Thank you Robert, one of our great business leaders!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019
Since those tweets, Johnson has parroted many of Trump's comments about Black Americans and the Democratic Party.
"It’s time for African Americans to think in terms of their permanent interests, not being an appendage to either party, either Democrats or Republicans,” he told CNBC on Thursday.
“I don’t think it’s fundamentally in the best interest of African Americans to be locked up in one party, particularly in an environment where everything is [a] zero-sum game. We can be the balance of power," he said.
In recent months Johnson has refused to say who he is supporting in the 2020 election and admitted that some of Trump's actions have been embarrassing for America on the world stage. Back in July, and even as recently as Thursday, Johnson said he believes the Democratic party has "moved too far to the left."
“What the Congressional Black Caucus said in 1971 should be the philosophy for African Americans today, ‘No permanent friends, no permanent enemies, just permanent interests,’” he said in the CNBC interview.
Johnson was offered a place in the Trump administration in 2017 but turned it down.
