Barkley, who publicly backed Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, said he was shocked by Tuesday’s results but called for unity in what has become a polarized nation. “I was in shock, I’m not gonna lie. I was totally surprised at the election results,” Barkley said. “That being said, we’ve got to move on. I was disappointed because my candidate didn’t win, No. 1. But like I said, it’s over now. [Trump] is going to be the president of the United States. We’ve got to respect the office, and we have to give him a chance. That’s the bottom line.”
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Johnson, a devout Christian, said in a particularly poignant speech that even though he did not vote for Trump (he said he wrote in Ohio Gov. John Kasich), he hoped that Trump would be a better president than the man many grew to fear on the campaign trail.
“I never know from one election to the next who’s going to be in office, but I know who’s on the throne," he said. “And I’m on this earth because God created me. And that’s who I answer to.”
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Johnson said he takes his cues from his religion. “The greatest commandment [Jesus] gave me was to love others," he concluded. “And Scripture also tells us to pray for our leaders. And that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to pray for Donald Trump.”
