Papa John's CEO is a Trump supporter who favors small government

Papa John's is the home of better ingredients and better pizza. It is also the home of better principles.

Papa John's CEO John Schnatter (above) has made no bones of his small government beliefs. Like many entrepreneurs, he sees the danger big government poses to free enterprise. Which may explain why he supports Republicans.

Business Insider posted Schnatter's thoughts on how the government is restricting American business. The article mentions how Schnatter doesn't get too political, and there is a reason for that. In 2012, Schnatter was a big supporter of Mitt Romney and held several fundraisers for him. As a result, liberals blasted him, and called for a boycott of Papa John's over it.

Still, Schnatter isn't afraid to speak out on the idea of free markets and unbridled capitalism. He has also written on the subject, and the article mentions his thoughts.

"[F]ree enterprise is increasingly under assault by a government that grows bigger with every passing day," he writes.

Speaking with Business Insider, Schnatter emphasized that he believes that regulation in the US needs to be dialed back to help businesses thrive.

"You've got to have free markets with limited government, with the proper amount of regulation where you don't jam entrepreneurship," Schnatter said.

In 2012, Schnatter came under fire for saying the Affordable Care Act could be "lose-lose" for Papa John's franchisees and employees, and said that the law would raise pizza prices. Papa John's shares slumped about 4.2% during the controversy, Forbes reported. 

Schnatter donated $1,000 to President Trump's campaign, but is wary about getting to too political these days. 

"As far as the politics, I have no idea," he said. "I do think we ought to give the new administration at least a chance to either do better things or to botch it."

In terms of regulation, at least, President Trump seems likely to redirect the restaurant industry in a direction Schnatter would appreciate. The president has promised to eliminate "wasteful and unnecessary regulation which kills jobs."

If you need a good reason to order Papa John's pizza, here you go.