Dwayne Johnson has recently been making headlines with coy remarks about considering a career in politics. It’s become a running joke, a standard question for interviewers to bring up. He playfully “announced” his presidential run in the latest SNL skit, and continues to tease us by refusing to rule out the idea. But as we all know, what starts as a joke could well end up becoming reality. And the response from the public, so far, has actually been pretty enthusiastic.
Whatever your opinion of President Trump, the former reality television star’s unlikely victory has undoubtedly paved the way for other celebrities to enter the White House. “President Rock” is no longer beyond the realms of possibility.
Pandora’s Box is open, and the lid isn’t coming back on. Already, whispers of Kanye West, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith and Katy Perry making a Presidential run have been spreading across the internet. And now, former wrestler turned box-office superstar Dwayne Johnson. That’s a pretty ridiculous list.
But what's even more ridiculous, is that Johnson could actually win. Think about it. He’s terrifyingly charismatic, with a wide smile that makes the happy emoji look sad. It’s like Johnson stole Obama’s alarmingly consistent grin and super-sized it. The man is practically a giant, and if history tells us anything about the race for leadership, it’s that size matters. His ethnicity is mixed and difficult to pinpoint, but if you were to look hard enough, you could probably see a bit of yourself in there. He’s a man of the people, a star who rose from an impoverished background, a troubled kid who buckled down, expanded his biceps and his bank account. Dwayne Johnson is the American dream personified.
And, well, he just seems cool. There’s a reason the man attracts droves of moviegoers, and it’s because he’s just inherently likable. Who doesn’t love “The Rock?” Vin Diesel, maybe. But everyone else on Earth loves the man.
But do we really need another celebrity president? The White House certainly doesn’t need any more pageantry. Regardless of which country we call home, we’re all far too likely to have an impassioned opinion about the man who occupies the Oval Office.
Every day, the internet is flooded with news about Trump, fake and real. There’s so much raw hate and love out there, so many strangers clashing on message boards, so many friends turned bitter enemies over which team they support. It’s exhausting and it’s showing no signs of stopping, or even slowing down.
On a more positive note, we’re all pretty politically engaged these days. Most of us read something political daily, even if it is a conspiracy theory blog written in all-caps. Everybody has an opinion, and that can only be a positive thing. Theoretically, anyway.
With so many eyes now focused on the White House, are we placing politicians under intense pressure, like ants under a magnifying glass, or are we just detracting from the issues by arguing about handshakes and finger-length? It’s difficult to say.
Dwayne Johnson may have the necessary charisma to unite a divided country. And who knows, he might even be a great politician. He seems like a nice guy after all. And he’s already showing an aptitude for Presidential responsibilities by going on a Twitter rant, condemning film critics for refusing to pretend that Baywatch is a good movie. But if America does elect a guy who used to bodyslam his opponents while clad in latex and leather, there’s no going back. Future aspiring politicians better hope that they can sing, or dance, or something. Modern-day cinema continues to hemorrhage money; the future of entertainment may lie in the Oval Office.
Perhaps Adlai Stevenson was correct when he said, “In America, anybody can be president. That's one of the risks you take.”
