Dwayne Johnson, 2024 President or 2020 Pawn?
Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 put the political world on its head.
A former primetime television darling, who was not a career politician, winning the highest political position in the free world was a game-changing moment in American history. A Donald Trump presidency has yielded many outcomes: good, bad and in-between. A strong, pre-COVID economy allowing citizens of all races to prosper: good. Enormous tax cuts for wealthy corporations: in-between. More celebrity names bandied about to run for President: bad.
In many nations around the world, celebrities are not allowed to run for political office. America fosters a celebrity-obsessed society. So it comes as no surprise that since Trump’s presidential victory, many other non-politicians who grace television screens have their names thrown into the discussion for a POTUS run. It does make for great PR. Dwayne Johnson is one of those names.
The former WWE wrestler (excuse me, “sports entertainer”) and current Hollywood titan made some bold political statements in 2020. His “Where Are You?” speech earlier this year, delivered to his 14 million Twitter followers and nearly 200 million Instagram followers, became a viral sensation, where he criticized the Trump administration. He founded the VoteSaveAmerica foundation, which encourages young citizens to vote and donate to the Democratic fundraiser organization ActBlue. Today he officially endorses Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Is “The Rock” continuing to lay the foundation for a presidential run?
Possibly. Johnson checks many of the boxes I believe Democrats would look for in a candidate. His appearance is a big deal: he is 6’4”, of Black and Samoan ethnicity (appealing to the Left’s diversity narrative) while possessing a great smile and physique. If you do not think the physical appearance factor matters in a presidential election, consider the first televised presidential debate in 1960. Richard Nixon was vastly more experienced and polished as a politician compared to his opponent John F. Kennedy. However, JFK, similar to Johnson, was a good-looking man. His dazzling looks, charm and charismatic personality played well over television and helped propel him into The White House. Johnson could be this generation’s JFK if he were to run for President. In an interview with GQ’s Caity Weaver in 2017, she asked if he would trade his lavish and lucrative Hollywood lifestyle to be President of the United States. His answer, “I think that it’s a real possibility”.
Both sides of the aisle have shown they will use celebrity influencers to propagate their message to young audiences. The Biden campaign used rapper Cardi B’s massive influence to their advantage. As a counterpunch, Republicans like Candace Owens also took advantage of Cardi’s political ignorance. As I mentioned earlier in the article, Dwayne Johnson has a massive social media following, a platform that any political party covets. Instead of being a serious presidential candidate, Johnson could very well be another tool in the shed used to get Trump out of office. Johnson is admired by millions….”and millions” around the globe, making it unlikely he gets any significant pushback for his endorsements. Johnson’s endorsement could certainly be used as a point of reference for Biden in the upcoming debates.
Dwayne Johnson might be a presidential candidate in the future, but right now he is another celebrity pawn in the ongoing Trump vs. Biden chess match.
