Actor and wrestler Dwayne « The Rock » Johnson suggests a presidential run may be in the works
You’ ve got to admit, presidential debates would be much more interesting if the candidates smashed chairs over each other’s heads. In a penetrating new GQ profile of Dwayne Johnson, the 45-year-old former pro wrestler turned A-list actor said he’ d been thinking about a presidential run. “I think that [running] is a real possibility, ” Johnson interviewer Caity Weaver. The Rock first hinted at a foray into politics in 2016, when he said, “I’ ll be honest, I haven’ t ruled politics out.” After The Washington Post called his candidacy “, ” Johnson—who is a registered Republican—posted a screenshot from the article and called it “interesting.” The Rock’s floating of the idea of running for office, and the fact that some are taking it seriously, hints at a more troubling national trend: the tendency to conflate celebrity with expertise. The idea that celebrities have attained hallowed status in the public eye and are thus more deserving of public servant roles than those with a deep understanding of policy and political organizing has come to infect American political discourse. As Donald Trump’s ascendancy to the presidency, the celebrity-politician axis is a two-way street. Just as many see celebrity a path to unearned political expertise, former politicians often become celebrities in their own rights. High-paid speaking gigs and a Hollywood circuit are for high-ranking politicians who have graduated from public service. Ultimately, most prominent politicians in the U. S. earn the and. Admittedly, there have been celebrities turned politicians who knew what they were doing, but only because they were steeped in the political world prior to announcing their candidacies. That includes Sen. Al Franken, D-MN, who prior to being a senator was a political commentator; also, , the novelist and left-wing political commentator who said, “the difference between me and the other candidates is that I’ m not good and I can prove it.” Yet The Rock, like Trump, is not one of them. And there’s nothing wrong with telling an actor that you loved them in, but you don’ t trust them to legislate your healthcare. After all, you wouldn’ t trust a politician to play an acting role—why should the reverse be true?
