Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, aka dude from the “Baywatch” reboot, is threatening to run for president and we should talk about it.
When Donald Trump was elected president, I imagine that the people of the United States had an epiphany: literally anybody can be president. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never had political experience, or if you have infinite conflicts of interest — you can still be the elected leader of the United States of America. It’s easy!
I mean, even Oprah is considering a run at this point. So Dwayne Johnson is just one of many people inspired by the election of a maybe bewigged, certainly overly-tanned billionaire. He’s just one of many American citizens who thought to themselves, “Oh, well since the bar is so low, maybe I ought to give this a try, too.”
You see, last year The Washington Post published an op-ed suggesting that 45-year-old Johnson could be a viable candidate for the presidency. Johnson posted a screen grab on his own Instagram, saying “I care DEEPLY about our county… and the idea of one day becoming President to create real positive impact and global change is very alluring. Buuuuut until that possible day, the most important thing right now is strong honest leadership from our current and future leaders of this country.” He concluded with an American flag emoji and a muscle emoji because, duh.
As he tells GQ, he’s since given the idea more thought. “A year ago, it started coming up more and more,” he says. “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!” Um, dude. If you’re going to give us a three-day weekend, I can vote you in right now.
Johnson, a former wrestler turned actor who is somehow both very attractive and very likable, then tells the mag that a run for president could be “a real possibility.” The man is serious!
And honestly? It’s probably not the worst idea I’ve heard.
