Dwayne Johnson Opens Up About Potential Presidential Run

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been getting praise for his role in The Smashing Machine, where he plays MMA fighter Mark Kerr.

While promoting the film on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast, Johnson spoke about the challenges of the role and also touched on the topic of politics.

When asked what message he would give people who feel like the world is falling apart, Johnson shared something personal. “My uncle said to me a couple of months ago: ‘It’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.’ That stuck with me.” He also explained a phrase he learned during filming that he calls “radical empathy.”

“If you can feel empathy for someone who looks invincible — like Mark Kerr — then you can feel it for anyone. And once you have that, the judging starts to go away. The noise dies down.”

Johnson said he’s been passing that same message on to his daughter Simone. “I said, ‘It’s going to be okay. Let’s talk. We’ve got this,’” he told the podcast.

The conversation eventually turned to whether he would ever run for president. Johnson didn’t rule it out. “It’s wild, man. I’m always honored when people ask that. I love what I do. I love storytelling. But yeah… we’ll see.”

Johnson’s history with politics has been mixed. He admitted that he didn’t vote for the first ten years he was eligible. In 2000, he revealed at the Republican National Convention that he had only just registered at age 28. Two decades later, he endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

But in a last year’s interview with Fox News, Johnson said he regrets making that endorsement. “The endorsement that I made years ago with Biden was one I thought was the best decision for me at that time. But what that caused was something that tears me up in my guts — which is division. That got me.”

Johnson explained that he will not back any candidate in the 2024 election. “I realize now going into this election, I will not do that. My goal is to bring this country together. I believe in that. There will be no endorsement. At this level of influence, I will keep my politics to myself. It is between me and the ballot box.”

When asked if he was satisfied with how America is today, Johnson said no. His main concern is what he sees as growing social problems. “Today’s cancel culture, woke culture, division, etcetera — that really bugs me,” he said.

For now, Johnson seems more focused on acting than politics, but his comments show he hasn’t completely closed the door on a future run for office.

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