Judge Judy endorses favorite for president: 'I am taking a personal and a career risk'

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Judge Judy named highest-paid TV host of 2018

According to Forbes' ranking, Judge Judy Sheindlin reportedly pocketed $147 million pretax this year, making her the highest-grossing host by a wide margin. The stern courtroom personality became Forbes' 48th richest self-made woman in America with an estimated net worth of $400 million.

Judge Judy Sheindlin is speaking out about her political views in a new op-ed.

The TV courtroom personality, 77, wrote a piece for USA Today in which she endorsed former mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg for president even though he's not currently running for the position.

This op-ed is also the first time Sheindlin is publicly announcing her political stance.

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"I realize I am taking a personal and a career risk," she wrote. "I have carefully stayed away from politics for 50 years, except to vote. But times have changed in our country, and I believe the moment has come for me to step out from behind the curtain. I want to speak honestly and from the heart -- regardless of the consequences."

The "Judge Judy" star believes the billionaire businessman would make a "no-nonsense president."

"Our American family has been fractured in recent years. We’re hopelessly divided, and a bitterly divided family cannot thrive," she said. "The only way we can begin to come together again, I said, is if Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, becomes our next president."

Then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg addresses the media during a news conference at City Hall in New York, Thursday, Jan 28, 2010. (AP)

"An independent, tough-minded businessman, he represents our best chance to bring America together again and begin the long national process of healing," Sheindlin continued. "Unlike those on the far right and the far left who use their bully pulpit to divide us, he’s a pragmatist, a man who has shown time and again that he knows how to get things done and cares more about results than ideology. That’s a skill in short supply these days, on both sides."

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The star called the 2020 election the most divisive in our country's history and feels Bloomberg is the "only person out there who seems to understand that screaming at one another gets us nowhere."

Meanwhile, Bloomberg has previously said that he does not intend to run for president. In March 2019, he wrote a column on Bloomberg.com starting he would not be entering the race.

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"It’s essential that we nominate a Democrat who will be in the strongest position to defeat Donald Trump and bring our country back together. We cannot allow the primary process to drag the party to an extreme that would diminish our chances in the general election and translate into “Four More Years,'" he wrote.

Bloomberg served as mayor for three terms from 2002 to 2013.