The actor-turned-politician trend has gifted us Ronald Reagan, Al Franken, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Donald Trump. Given Schwarzenegger’s scandal with his former housekeeper, Franken’s current sexual assault allegations and the evil created by Trump and Reagan’s mere existence, one could be forgiven for wanting to stop thespians from serving as public officials. Someone might want to send that message to one Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
In May, The Rock discussed the possibility of a 2020 Presidential run in a profile for GQ magazine, saying, “I think that it’s a real possibility.” He and Tom Hanks then joked about the topic during the cold open while on Saturday Night Live. And most people presumably figured Johnson’s run was as about as serious as Kanye West’s proposed 2020 run. But Johnson seemed dead serious about such talk during a subsequent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
And, based on Friday’s interview with Instyle magazine, Johnson hasn’t ruled out a 2020 run.
“This whole thing started with a piece in The Washington Post about a year and a half, two years ago,” Johnson told Laura Brown. “And then, when it started to pick up and got to the point where it was just impossible to ignore, I said, ‘Of course I would consider a run.’ So where we’re at right now is just quietly observing everything happening on the political landscape, and when the next election comes along … I will be watching very intently.”
The former pro-wrestler seems to have already mulled over a campaign slogan, based on the amount of times he’s repeated the phrase “More poise, less noise.”
It should also be noted that in May’s GQ interview, Caity Weaver got Johnson to disclose that he declined to endorse Hillary Clinton or Trump.
“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,” Johnson told Weaver in the GQ profile. “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.”
In plain terms, Johnson had a chance to endorse the candidate who didn’t make incredibly racist remarks about Mexican immigrants and turned it down.
You can read the full Instyle interview, which features Johnson’s comments on recent NFL player’s protesting racial injustices, at Instyle.com.
