Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Says a Presidential Run Is ‘a Real Possibility’
From the beaches of Baywatch to… the White House? Action star Dwayne Johnson recently revealed that a political run to become the leader of the free world isn’t out of the question — in fact, it might be the question. “A year ago, it started coming up more and more,” Johnson explained in a recent GQ interview. “There was a real sense of earnestness, which made me go home and think, ‘Let me really rethink my answer and make sure I am giving an answer that is truthful and also respectful.’ I didn’t want to be flippant — ‘We’ll have three days off for a weekend! No taxes!’”
After giving it some thought, the Fate of the Furious star declared, “I think it’s a real possibility.”
He spoke to Yahoo Movies about whether or not he would consider a run for president back in November:
Johnson, an impossibly popular star (and currently the highest-paid actor on Earth), has the proven ability to influence people, as evidenced by the box office numbers for his films. During the last presidential election, both camps recognized this attribute and reached out to him for endorsement, he revealed. He didn’t give one to either candidate.
“I feel like I’m in a position now where my word carries a lot of weight and influence, which of course is why they want the endorsement. But I also have a tremendous amount of respect for the process and felt like if I did share my political views publicly, a few things would happen — and these are all conversations I have with myself, in the gym at four o’clock in the morning — I felt like it would either (a) make people unhappy with the thought of whatever my political view was. And, also, it might sway an opinion, which I didn’t want to do.” That was a very diplomatic answer.
Also, he loves kids and frequently shares heartwarming snaps of himself with his (adorable) daughter. So he’s got that part of the campaigning in the bag too.
A post shared by therock (@therock) on May 2, 2017 at 8:53am PDT
Asked, specifically, about the travel ban, Johnson didn’t mince words. “I completely disagree with it,” he declared. “I believe in our national security to the core, but I don’t believe in a ‘ban’ that bans immigrants. I believe in inclusion. Our country was built on that, and it continues to be made strong by that.”
He went on to call the decision “a snap judgment” and argue that while the “majority” of Americans feel that protection is important, many of them disagree with the “ideology and execution” of the way it was enacted. “We really have to be careful of not making those snap decisions, because there’s a tail effect,” he added. “Within 24 hours, we saw a ‘tail effect.’ It grew to heartache, it grew to a great deal of pain, it grew to a great deal of confusion, and it had a lot of people scrambling.” Just as a reminder, this is a man whose big break was playing a role opposite Brendan Fraser in The Mummy Returns.
Can a man who stars in Disney flicks and spends hours upon hours at the gym really make it all the way to the White House?
Yes. Yes, he can. “If [becoming the president] is something he focused on, he probably would accomplish it,” said Ron Meyer, NBCUniversal vice chairman, in the GQ piece, “I think there’s nothing that he couldn’t do.”
So far, President Trump has not tweeted about Johnson’s statements.
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