Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, who ended his 2024 presidential bid and endorsed former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination, told Newsmax on Tuesday that a world "in peril" needs the negotiating skills of the real estate magnate turned politician.
"Let's be realistic: We have a situation right now where the world is in peril," Johnson said during an appearance on Newsmax's "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE." "You have a war going on in Ukraine, you have now a war going on in the Middle East, and the biggest fear that we had was that China might literally invade Taiwan. While this is going on, we have disaster here in the United States with middle America. We have inflation that is rampant. Nobody can deny that the government caused all this with their excessive spending. We have a situation right now where the middle class is getting killed. We go out and buy food, and it literally is 40% more than it was three years ago."
"Then you have a situation where you look at what's going on, and we have a president who doesn't even know where he is half the time," he continued. "And I'm going to ask you one simple question: Do you really think this embodies confidence and engenders confidence? … I don't think so."
Johnson suspended his 2024 presidential campaign on Friday and endorsed Trump for president on Monday. In his statement announcing his decision to leave the race, Johnson criticized "corruption" in the Republican National Committee and accused the organization of manipulating the debate process to exclude outsider candidates. He will reportedly still appear on the ballot in early nominating contests, including New Hampshire, and has left open the possibility of reentering the race, should the dynamics change.
When asked how quickly Trump could solve the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, following the Palestinian militant group's unprovoked attack on the Jewish state earlier this month that left more than 1,400 Israelis dead, Johnson said he didn't think the conflict "would exist if he were in office."
"The bottom line is that they know that he's going to go over there and solve the problem very quickly," he said. "He is not a pusillanimous figure. So, when you look at Donald Trump, you don't see a meek, mild guy, who has a hard time getting around. You see somebody who's decisive, who's strong, and they know that he's sharp, and there is no better negotiator in the world than Donald Trump."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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