The Rock 2020? Dwayne Johnson revealed in a new interview with GQ magazine that he’s seriously considering running for president.
“I think that it’s a real possibility,” the Baywatch actor, 45, said, noting that he started thinking about a potential White House role after The Washington Post published an op-ed in June 2016 suggesting that he’d be a good candidate.
“A year ago, [the idea] started coming up more and more,” Johnson told GQ. “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!'”
The WWE star declined to give an endorsement in the 2016 presidential election, though he claimed that campaigns for both President Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reached out to him. “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,” he 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.”
Johnson said he was afraid that endorsing a candidate would “make people unhappy with the thought of whatever my political view was” and “might sway an opinion,” something he didn’t want to do.
The Moana star didn’t share much information about his political affiliations, though he was quick to disagree with Trump’s controversial travel ban. “I believe in our national security to the core, but I don’t believe in a ‘ban’ that bans immigrants,” he told GQ. “I believe in inclusion. Our country was built on that, and it continues to be made strong by that. And the decision felt like a snap judgment.”
For the time being, Johnson has at least one person backing him. NBCUniversal vice chairman Ron Meyer told GQ he’d vote for the actor “without a question.”
