Dwayne Johnson is everywhere these days because Baywatch opens this Friday. Unfortunately, the projections for Baywatch’s opening weekend have dropped recently so the promo gang has kicked it into high gear. Whereas Zac Efron and his on-screen love interest Alexandra Daddario are playing the “are they or aren’t they?” game overseas, DJ is going in a different direction domestically: he’s talking about running for president. Early this month, Kaiser covered his GQ interview in which the writer asked if he would consider running for president. DJ said, “I think that’s a real possibility.” It wasn’t all that committal, just like in the interview itself he did not come down on either side of the 2016 candidates. Remaining non-partisan is a dark-horse tactic when they are feeling out their chances. The GQ article kicked up a dust storm in the popular interest. So much so, that a recent poll said were the election tomorrow, DJ would beat #45. Let’s be honest, a hangnail would beat #45 in a poll right now so the real question is, is The Rock serious about running for president? Jimmy Fallon asked him just that when he appeared on The Tonight Show last Thursday.
He might give politics a try! Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson expanded on his recent comments that he’s considering a run for president. The Baywatchactor, 45, previously said there’s a “real possibility” he would run for POTUS one day in his June GQ cover story.
“The surge and groundswell since then has been amazing, and I have to tell you I’m so incredibly flattered,” he said. “There’s a national poll that came out this week that brought together Republicans and Democrats in saying that I would beat Donald Trump if we had an election today to become president. I really have been blown away.”Public Policy Polling did in fact find that in a hypothetical poll, the Fast and Furious star could take down President Donald Trump. In a mock 2020 election, the former WWE wrestler had 42 percent support to the current commander in chief’s 37 percent.
“A lot of people want to see a different leadership today — no, I’m sorry, not different, but a better leadership today,” Johnson continued. “I think, more poise, less noise.”
The Ballers actor thinks his normal lifestyle is what connects him to fans across the country. “I think over the years I’ve become a guy that a lot of people, kind of, relate to,” he said. “I get up early at a ridiculous hour, I go to work, spend time with the troops, take care of my family, I love taking care of people, and I think that kind of thing really resonates with people, especially today.”
You can watch the Fallon clip here. On paper, DJ sounds serious. Spoken, I think he’s deflecting. He may be considering it, but I don’t really believe he is telling us that he is planning a run. If anything, he’s using the discussion to 1) humble brag about his popularity and 2) to take jabs at the current president by pointing out how much people hate him and why. To further the discussion about a potential President Rock Johnson (it works, admit it), DJ worked it into his SNL monologue in which he declared he was making it ‘official’ and offered Tom Hanks as his running mate. Again, this could be a move to put the idea into people’s minds but… I don’t know, maybe I just hope this isn’t the case. I’m still dealing with the repercussions of Californians thinking it would be rad if The Terminator became our Govinator – and he, at least, had some political experience.
However, I can’t say they didn’t make a compelling argument:
If you didn’t watch SNL’s season finale, it wasn’t bad. The cold open was brilliant by recreating Kate McKinnon’s Hillary Clinton singing Hallelujah with the current administration. I pretty much agree with Pajiba’s break down here. DJ made a few skits work on charm alone that might have otherwise fallen flat. I’m bummed it was Bobby Moynihan and Vanessa Bayer’s last but they were given good air time as a send-off. No idea how Katy Perry did.
Even if I don’t want DJ to run for president it doesn’t mean I don’t want to help with his campaign slogan. Here are my considerations:
If the White House Is ROCKing, Don’t Bother Knocking (Come on in!)
The Presidency Belongs to WWE The People
Wouldn’t be the First Johnson in The Oval Office
It’s.Not.Trump.
Photo credit: WENN Photos and Getty Images
Please can we take the job of President of the United States seriously again? Can we go back to the time that we elect someone with the necessary credentials. We don’t need celebrities continuing to dumb the office of President down to nothing.
Exactly.
I appreciate your comment and totally agree with it. The American people need someone capable to run the country, and although I love DJ he would not be able to cope with being POTUS. If he (or any celebrity for that matter) wants to run for president, he has to pay his dues and start from the bottom up. Let DJ become a congressman and then senator and then governor first. Only then he should consider becoming president.
I was coming on here to say the same thing. Another unfortunate side effect of the Trump administration is that every narcissistic (which lets be real, is most of them!) Hollywooder with a little extra cash is going to come out of the woodwork and run. Gross.
I really like Dwayne, but come on man. Stay in your lane!
Brooke Burke’s hubby Mr. Baywatch (forgot his name but I saw him in the Arnold’s Apprentice and he was an a$$) is running for Congress. Mr. Burke (sorry that’s not his real name) had a man fit on the Apprentice because he would not ride behind his wife in a Kawasaki ad. He said it “wasn’t believable.”
So I bet this sexist pig will win a seat because are just that dumb nowadays.
Yes I hate watched the last Apprentice.
Exactly. I dont get how “America screwed up by electing a reality star” turned into “Lets have more of these people in politics”.
How can someone like Rock even think he would make a good president? Yeah he would be better than Trump but is that the level we should be going for?
Exactly.
You could pick a random name out of the white pages and they would be a better person for the job than Trump but that’s not what we should aim for in our leaders. We should have higher standards but there are so many celebrity-obsessed people that I actually think Rock would win if he ran.
YES! thank you. aren’t we a joke enough already? this position is not ENTRY LEVEL! for christs sake this is getting ridiculous. the rock seems like a cool guy but stay in your lane. we need SERIOUS, ACCOMPLISHED, EXPERIENCED public servants who understand the law and are fit to serve the nation. im so over celebrities with no background in public service going on ad nausea about how they are considering it… what a joke
Completely agree with you! Celebrities like to think they are like us and can totally relate. It does nothing but make me roll my eyes. I didn’t like Hillary a lot for this reason. She relied to much on the celebrity push instead of really relating to the “real American.” I don’t care how great an actor or singer you are you can never relate to what a real American lives like. We suffer the most with taxes and financial problems. I didn’t vote for either candidate this time because I felt both were weak candidates and I really think what Hillary did to Bernie was wrong. I really feel if Biden or Bernie were the candidate we would have won, but she wanted to be president so bad it blinded her to the reality of what was around her. I’m all about a woman being president, but she just wasn’t it. I try to have hope for Trump, but he continually lets me down. My husband, a Muslim, who lives in Morocco is trying to get his visa/green card so he can come and live with me, his wife, in the US, but he was denied it. I feel his presidency and his dislike for non-rich Muslims (loves those Saudis though! The women-oppressive, 9/11 causing oil monguls!) has caused my husband and I problem. I am very passionate about immigration rights and Trump could careless. It’s ironic right considering his wife is an immigrant.
I’ve talked to the senator here in my state and am here in Morocco now to hopefully speak to the consul officer to get some insight, but if anyone else has any helpful advice it would be appreciated. I just want my husband here in the US.
+123
Thank you! Yes!
We currently have a reality TV host as President and we can all see what a terrible job he’s doing. He thought that because he was Donald Trump that people would just let him steamroll his way to do whatever he wants. Now any and every unqualified blowhard thinks they can be President.
We need to have QUALIFIED people running for political office. The Presidency is a grueling, exhausting job – just look at how much Presidents age between the time they take the job and the time they are done. This isn’t a job for just anyone who thinks it would be “fun” to be President. You actually have to do real work at this job.
Yes, yes, yes!! Absolutely agree. Putting a celebrity in charge didn’t work with Reagan (I am not counting his CA governorship as experience, since he just played it like an acting role), it absolutely isn’t working with the Current Idiot, and it’s never, ever going to work. It makes me so angry that our ever-thirsty-for-entertainment-populace can’t just stand aside and let a brilliant person take the wheel (even if he/she is “boring” or “unappealing”) and show some damn respect for brain talent.
The president should always be a politician, but if I had a choice between reality show /game show host Trump or The Rock, I would absolutely vote for The Rock.
It I had a choice between trump and a rock, any random rock, I would vote for the rock.
Lol. Even a pebble has more intelligence than Trump. Would definitely be more proud to have any rock rather than Trump as president
I just snorted. Sad and true.
No thanks. We don’t need any more celeb worship. I’m over the whole “well if I ran I would’ve won!” Business. No one cares can we focus on the problem at hand?
I love you, Rock, but no – just no.
Dear Americans
This Cheeto administration is an opportunity for you to understand once and for all that politics is a career one goes into with a certain kind of knowledge and savoir-faire pertaining to economy, political and or social studies, administration, management and so forth. Not to someone’s private life, work in the film industry of real-estate. Voting for a new POTUS is not the chance to “try something different” – the POTUS is not an exotic food or a new trend in clothing.
Xoxo
Slowsnow
” the POTUS is not an exotic food or a new trend in clothing”
Can I “steal” the phrase when people say they want something different in politics?!
Be my guest! We need to spread the word!
On the fun side, I will vote for you Rock even through I am British and not American 😁
This is the world we live in now. He probably COULD get voted into office as president at this point because the bar has been set so low as to almost be invisible.
This is what happens when your electorate has no problem admitting they voted for someone (Shrub) because they thought “..that he looked like a fun guy to have a beer with”.
The US doesn’t deserve the democracy it was given. Most of the country is too lazy to vote in crucial state and local elections let alone presidential elections because it’s haaaaarrrddd. I’m not confident about the 2018 mid terms for precisely this reason – if 45 and his cadre of deatheaters don’t gerrymander and vote suppress their way into easy GOP wins, there’s no proof that people won’t still find some excuse to not get involved because it involves actual effort (and I’m talking about people who have actual problems with voting access) that they can’t take care of by using their phone.
I hate to be this cynical, but it will be very interesting to see of all this outrage actually translates into election day activity. I hope I’m proven wrong.
People want a better leadership today? More poise and less noise? Compared to whom? Obama, Clinton or Trump? Who is the one with no poise and much noise? If people want something different, then who is he referring to?
Could he also say “Are you kidding me? One celebrity without political experience in the White House is enough for generations to come. Leave political business to people who know what they are doing!” the next time someone asks him, if he would run for president? But that would anger part of his fanbase and he wouldn’t risk that.
Let’s use Trump thinking to decide if we should vote for DJ. Is he hot? Yes, then vote for him. Just kidding. I Really don’t think he’s serious about running, it’s just a fun thing to talk about. But boy, my honey looks good!
Is this a twitter war in the making?
Hey you big muscle bound, steroid infused idiot: How about running for Representative, Mayor or PTA President first?
I don’t know if that would be “flattering” enough.
I don’t think the man was serious….geeesh!
I’m baffled by this guy, people actually take him seriously… as an actor, motivational speaker, sexiest thing alive so why not leader of the free world!
Much as I adore Dwayne Johnson, I think– and hope– that the Trump disaster will slam the door shut on any novelty candidate having a chance again any time soon. Assuming we’re still here and Trump the dumbass hasn’t gotten us nuked before 2020.
I read the headline as ‘I would eat Donald Trump’. I would be okay with that. He could also beat Trump in the literal sense of the word.
The Rock’s inaugural speech and activities would be great, but I’m for HER (Kamala Harris).
I would vote for The Rock over Agent Orange any day. However, I just want to go back to the time when we had intelligent, thoughtful people in office who actually knew what they were doing (OBAMA!).
I love the Rock, but no!!!
I want The Rock to be POTUS purely so Barack Obama can play him on SNL.
I think if a can of Campbell’s Chicken and Rice ran against Trump, I’d vote for the that – at least soup is comforting.
Until he goes away, becomes mayor/governor of something and demonstrates that he will work for and understands the issues of his constituency for the next 20 years-no. We need people with experience who know what they’re doing.
Who the f told the rock that he could be president?
“I can relate to people” is NOT ENOUGH.
We got so hung up on “drain the swamp” and “Washington insiders are bad by definition” that we forgot that it’s the insiders, the career politicians, who actually understand how the government works, how governments relate to each other, and what effect laws have on people. Now granted some of those career politicians do not give a flying fuck about the effect laws have on people (I’m looking at YOU, Ryan, McConnell, Goodlatte!), but they still understand it.
For every Dwayne Johnson who pops up and thinks he can be President just because one unbelievably unqualified lying shmuck did it, there’s an Al Franken out there who might have started out in show business but who actually cares enough about government to learn something about it before making an utter fool of himself. Or so I desperately hope. (And a lot of those guys who started out in show business and care about government decide to stay in show business. Like, say, Tom Hanks. Who I’d vote for.)
The gopher from Caddyshack would be able to beat Donald Trump if the election was held today……even if he had been turned into roadkill by a wayward golf cart.
If he is being serious I am going to have to bang my head against a brick wall. Is this what we’ve come to? (Trump aside.) How about someone who’s had a career in public service not AN ACTION MOVIE STAR CALLED —— THE ROCK. Wtf!
I used to think this was harmless entertainment but I’m beginning to believe that our obsession with celebrities, & feeding their massive egos by giving them too much attention is having an actual detrimental affect on the world.
No Mr Rock. No George Clooney (I know he’s just biding his time til he runs for something), we do not want you as leaders of our countries.. have a reality check.