Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson told GQ that the idea of putting his acting career on hold to run for president is a “real possibility,” although he’s cagey on where he stands on many issues or even if he’d associate with a political party.
In fact, Johnson said that he was approached last year by the Trump and Clinton campaigns about an endorsement, but he declined.
“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,” Johnson said. “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.”
After the Washington Post ran an op-ed suggesting that he would be a viable candidate, Johnson said that he thought it was “fun to read.”
But he told GQ that after giving the idea more thought, he’s come to look at it as a “real possibility.”
He said that he opposes Trump’s campaign call for a ban on Muslims entering the country. Otherwise, Johnson was more general in expressing his views, calling for more inclusion in leadership. He’s also been an advocate for veterans and mental health issues.
“I’d like to see a better leadership,” he told GQ. “I’d like to see a greater leadership. When there’s a disagreement, and you have a large group of people that you’re in a disagreement with — for example, the media — I feel like it informs me that I could be better.”
Johnson is not the first unconventional candidate to be floated for 2020, as other names like Mark Cuban and Mark Zuckerberg have been mentioned. Oprah Winfrey even stirred speculation in an interview late last year that she was interested, although she later told Stephen Colbert, “Never!” Disney CEO Bob Iger, whose contract expires in 2019, declined to say whether he was interested in running in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, saying that he was focused on his current job.
