The Rock for 2024 President? He Says ‘It’s Not a No’
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, 51, is not opposed to running for president of the United States. Yes, you read that right. The retired pro wrestler, actor and producer recently told TODAY that he’s not against running in the 2024 presidential election. His exact words? “It’s not a no.”
While The Rock has been fielding questions about a possible presidential run for years, his recent visits to The Pentagon and U.S. Capitol are fueling the rumors even further:
Johnson shared several Instagram posts yesterday of his visits to both government buildings. Speaking about meeting General Randy George, Chief of Staff of the Army, in Washington, D.C., the actor wrote: “Handshakes and eyes mean everything to me, as I know they do to this man as well.”
“Thank you for welcoming us to D.C. to meet with you and your fellow Generals,” The Rock added. “Looking forward to working with you and your team on the task at hand.”
Is this some kind of “Fast and Furious” franchise spinoff where Agent Luke Hobbs becomes President of the United States? Or is this reality? It seems pretty real, chief:
Interestingly enough, The Rock has sounded the presidency alarms many times in the past. So much so, he has actually admitted on two different podcasts that “the [political] parties” have visited him, asking if he is going to run for U.S. president.
Let’s get into it.
The Rock has spoken about running for president in the past — and political parties may have asked him to do it
Back in April 2021, Johnson posted an Instagram screenshot pointing to a Pipslay poll that showed 46% of Americans would vote him into the presidency.
Calling the poll “humbling,” the “Moana” star captioned the screenshot with: “I don’t think our Founding Fathers EVER envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick up truck driving, fanny pack wearing guy joining their club.”
“But if it ever happens it’d be my honor to serve you, the people,” he said.
Even before 2021, The Rock was already teasing fans with a potential presidential campaign. In fact, he explained to GQ in 2016 that he had not “ruled politics out” from his goals. “I can’t deny that the thought of being governor, the thought of being president, is alluring,” he described. “It would be an opportunity to make a real impact on people’s lives on a global scale.”
Then, the former wrestler stated on the “Ellen” show in 2017 that he was “seriously considering” running for president. Is 2024 finally his year?
Clearly, Johnson has considered a presidential campaign for years, and his recent visits to The Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol are making fan suspicions reach a fever pitch. Plus, as per Marca, the “Jumanji” actor told reporters while at The Pentagon: “I am on a special assignment.”
What does this mean?
Something that might have pushed The Rock to finally run for president was a visit from the political higher-ups.
While on Trevor Noah’s podcast “What Now?” last month, the actor revealed to the host: “At the end of the year in 2022, I got a visit from the parties asking me if I was going to run, and if I could run.” What parties, though? Share the chisme, Rocky.
“It was all very surreal because that’s never been my goal,” he explained. “My goal has never been to be in politics. As a matter of fact, there’s a lot about politics that I hate.”
“They brought up that poll, they also brought up their own deep-dive research and data,” he recalled. “That would prove, should I ever decide to go down that road, [I would be a real contender].”
“If that’s truly what the people want then of course I would consider it.”
Then, that same month, The Rock went on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast and also shared details about “the parties” visiting him. One question — how do “the parties” announce themselves? Do they just pop out of thin air in your living room? We have questions.
Johnson explained to Rogan, “One of the parties came to visit me at the end of last year asking for me to run [for president].”
“Incredibly f**king surreal,” he described. “Because I was the guy who was wresting in flea markets years ago, looking for free corn dogs and hot dogs… selling my head shots for $5.”
“So incredible that they had all this data, that they had said, if this happens, here’s the result,” he recalled. “I’m f**king honored.”
Still, The Rock admitted on the podcast last month that all this presidency has him thinking about the state of the world. As he hilariously put it, “It made me think, it’s either, ‘This is an incredible thing and I’ve got some pretty decent leadership skills,’ or… ‘Things are so f**ked up.'” Porque no los dos?!
This week, though, The Rock looked pretty serious about the possibility of being “President Johnson” one day. Walking through the U.S. Capitol, he revealed on Instagram that he “took an important meeting” there:
The actor added, “You could feel the energy… through these iconic halls.” He also said his Washington, D.C. experience was “humbling” and “motivating.”
Meanwhile, he also answered TODAY‘s questions about his possible presidential run… even if he did play it coy. “Here’s what I can tell you, with 100% certainty and surety,” he explained. “Is that I believe in working hard, controlling the controllable, and putting in all the hard work with your own two hands.”
“Being humble, hungry and grateful, kicking a** and always give back,” he said. “That’s what I can tell you. So it’s not a no.”
People are having mixed reactions to The Rock becoming President Johnson
As you can expect, people on social media are all over the news. As one relatable X user wrote, “Is this really happening?!”
“2024 is going to be a wild one.”
Still, others are wondering what this means about the current state of the U.S.: “If ‘The Rock’ runs for president how would that make ya’ll feel about America?”
Yes, this pretty much sums up our reaction to the news:
Do you think that he would win? Ah, this wasn’t on our 2023 (or 2024!) bingo card.
Moreover, as yet another X user hilariously put it, what in the America is going on here?
Yes, valid point:
