CJ Pearson, the 13 year-old viral YouTube star who renounced conservatism about two weeks ago, told CNN Wednesday that he’s endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Pearson had said the Republican party’s views on racial and gender disparity inspired him to change parties.
On Wednesday, he reportedly told CNN that he believed Sanders was “the right man for the White House.”
“This election will make a pivotal difference in the future of our nation,” Pearson said, according to CNN. “If it takes changing your mind to make the right choice as to who should lead our country, I am willing to do it. Screw the optics.”
Pearson reportedly said he thought Americans were “struggling.”
“We need the right man in the White House,” he was quoted as saying. “And in my opinion, that man is Senator Bernie Sanders.”
Pearson had made headlines for criticizing President Obama’s decision to invite Ahmed Mohammed, the Muslim teen whose clock police mistook for a homemade bomb, to the White House.
Pearson previously worked for the presidential campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as the chairman of Teens for Ted.
