GQ has a pretty dumb article going into detail about The Rock, a millionaire celebrity with no real public political views, possibly running for president.
Last June, when The Washington Post published an op-ed suggesting he could be a viable candidate, Johnson posted a screen grab and gave the idea a boost. On Instagram, he called the Post piece “interesting” and “fun to read,” adding that “the most important thing right now is strong honest leadership from our current and future leaders of this country.”
“A year ago,” he says, “it started coming up more and more. 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!’”
“I think that it’s a real possibility,” he says solemnly.
The Rock said that both Clinton and Trump wanted him to make an endorsement but he didn’t want to because he didn’t want people to know his political views. Seems like a good idea for people to call for him to run for president, not knowing his political views…
Last year, both presidential campaigns reached out to him for his endorsement, he says. “Which I did not give. I felt like…and give me a second, because I’ve never said this publicly, so…” He stops to gather his thoughts. He’s sitting now in a cabana on the set of Ballers while crew members wheel around towering lights. “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. 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.” He says he told both the Trump and Clinton camps that he wasn’t making an endorsement, that he preferred to see Americans make up their own minds.
On Donald Trump:
“How do you think Donald Trump is doing?” I ask.
“Mmm… With any job you come into, you’ve got to prove yourself. And…” Johnson pauses, performing lightning-fast mental calibrations. “Personally, I feel that if I were president, poise would be important. Leadership would be important. Taking responsibility for everybody. [If I didn’t agree with someone] on something, I wouldn’t shut them out. I would actually include them. The first thing we’d do is we’d come and sit down and we’d talk about it. It’s hard to categorize right now how I think he’s doing, other than to tell you how I would operate, what I would like to see.”
“What would you like to see?”
“Right?” Johnson says, laughing. He’s obviously a little nervous, plucking at the spandex material stretching across his massive thighs, but he doesn’t attempt to end the line of questioning. “I’d like to see a better leadership. 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. We all have issues, and we all gotta work our shit out. And I feel like one of the qualities of a great leader is not shutting people out. I miss that part. Even if we disagree, we’ve got to figure it out. Because otherwise I feel, as an American, all I hear and all I see in the example you’re setting is ‘Now I’m shutting you out. And you can’t come.’ [Disagreement] informs us. The responsibility as president—I [would] take responsibility for everyone. Especially when you disagree with me. If there’s a large number of people disagreeing, there might be something I’m not seeing, so let me see it. Let me understand it.”
On the “Muslim ban”:
“What are your thoughts on the Muslim ban?”
“I completely disagree with it,” he says without hesitation. “I believe in our national security to the core, but I don’t believe in a ‘ban’ that bans immigrants. 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. I feel like the majority of, if not all, Americans feel that protection is of huge importance. But the ideology and the execution [of national-security initiatives] is where we really have to be careful of not making those snap decisions, because there’s a tail effect… Within 24 hours, we saw a ‘tail effect.’ It grew to heartache, it grew to a great deal of pain, it grew to a great deal of confusion, and it had a lot of people scrambling.”
Realistically, The Rock is having huge success in “Hollywood” so it seems like it would be ridiculous for him to seriously consider taking on something as stressful as a presidential run, especially for someone who seems like he has no real concrete interest in politics or political viewpoints other than meaningless platitudes about “strong honest leadership.”