Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was the first guest on the series premiere of comedian and political pundit Trevor Noah’s podcast, “What Now? with Trevor Noah.” During their hour-long conversation, the two talked about Johnson’s upbringing, his relationship with his daughters, and some of his political stances.
While talking about how divided the United States is when it comes to politics, Noah brought up a 2021 poll that said at least 46 percent of adult Americans would support Johnson if he ran for the U.S. presidency. At the time, the eight-time WWE champion said that the poll was “humbling.”
“I don’t think our Founding Fathers EVER envisioned a 6-4, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila-drinking, pickup truck-driving, fanny pack-wearing guy joining their club — but if it ever happens, it’d be my honor to serve you, the people,” said Johnson.
Noah said that the poll either means that Johnson is “the paragon of what people would hope a leader would be” or that the state of American politics is so bad that it needs someone “to lay the smackdown on everybody.”
Johnson shared that he was still “honored” by the poll, and the former professional wrestler let listeners in on a little secret.
“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,” the 51-year-old revealed.
Noah was astounded, and Johnson said, “It was a big deal, and it came out of the blue.”
He said the parties brought up the 2021 poll and some of their own “deep dive” research that would prove that he could be a real contender if he ever decided to go through with it. The “Fast and Furious” actor said that it was surreal because it was never his goal to get into the political scene.
However, a stint in politics doesn’t look likely for Johnson for now. “My goal has never been to be in politics, and, as a matter of fact, there’s a lot about politics that I hate,” he told Noah.
As for most political topics, The Rock’s potential presidential run had fans split down the middle.
“I honestly would vote him than Biden and Trump,” said a Johnson supporter. “DWAYNE JOHNSON FOR PRESIDENT THE ROCK THAT AMERICA CAN BUILD ON,” another hilariously tweeted.
A commenter against the wrestler-turned-actor running for president replied to the news, saying, “And that’s why politics is a joke over here,” and “America is SO incredibly unserious.”
America is SO incredibly unserious 😭💀
— ladidai 📲 gems in link in bio (@ladidaix) November 9, 2023
Johnson said that one of the things that was hindering him from going forward with the idea was his young daughters. The wrestling icon said that he doesn’t want his younger daughters, Tiana, 5, and Jasmine, 7, to have the same experience as his eldest daughter Simone Johnson, 22. When Simone was growing up, Johnson was still working in the WWE, so he missed out on some of her milestone events, such as birthdays.
The People’s Champ didn’t rule out a political run altogether as he told Noah, “If that’s ultimately what the people would want, then of course I would consider it.”
This isn’t the first time that Johnson has been connected to the presidency, as that was one of the main focal points of his loosely based autobiographical sitcom, “Young Rock.” In the show, he runs for the presidency in 2032, and during interviews, he flashes back to his upbringing and the start of his Hall of Fame wrestling career.
