Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has officially filed his 2020 Presidential Campaign with The Election Commission.
In what would have felt like a bizarre dairy dream just a few years ago, the WWE champion turned movie action hero could be taking on reality star/sitting president Donald Trump to become the leader of the free world.
According to records, the official paperwork has been filed on behalf of the Get Smart star by a man from West Virginia called Kenton Tilford.
The connection between the two men is, as of yet, unknown.
Top 3 contenders for 2020:
1) The Rock
2) Mark Zuckerberg
3) Milkshake Duck
We have seen charismatic Dwayne take on everything from earthquakes to mummy-hunting archaeologists in his films.
He has even shown comedic talent, playing Obama in a Saturday Night Live skit before a podium labelled ‘The Rock Johnson 2020’.
However, now that the joke is fast becoming a reality, what sort of President would he be? Is the American public tiring of celebrities trying their hand at politics?
Imagine The Rock being our president and interrupting Vladimir Putin during a crucial meeting to tell him it doesn’t matter what his name is
Rumors have been circulating for quite some time. Back in June 2016, Alyssa Rosenberg from The Washington Post wrote an opinion piece which suggested that Dwayne could be a viable candidate.
Here, Alyssa stressed how The Rock’s national and global popularity could prove to be an important factor when gathering support.
Alyssa also discussed The Rock’s clean, non-controversial political record:
If he doesn’t have policy or issue bona fides, Johnson’s relative silence on substance also means he doesn’t have a record that can be used to tar him as some sort of flip-flopper.
And he could also make a series of carefully selected charitable and political donations designed to start building a record of positions.
It’s easier to teach talking points than charisma, as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) experienced earlier this year.
Dwayne responded to The Washington Post piece on Instagram, calling it ‘interesting’ and ‘fun to read’, whilst stressing the need for ‘strong honest leadership’.
At this point, he was still just toying with the idea of going into politics, having previously made the following statement:
I can’t deny that the thought of being governor, the thought of being president, is alluring.
And beyond that, it would be an opportunity to make a real impact on people’s lives on a global scale. But there are a lot of other things I want to do first.
However, it is now clear that he was beginning to ponder over one pretty big ambition…
Sure The Rock would make a better president than Trump, but so would an actual rock.
In May this year, The Rock spoke with GQ about the ‘real possibility’ of running for presidency.
Here, GQ writer Caity Weaver praised Dwayne’s ‘industrial strength patriotism’, with the athletic actor often taking to social media to give thanks to members of the armed forces.
Dwayne also gave a glimpse as to what his presidential style might look like, making the following admission:
Personally, I feel that if I were president, poise would be important. Leadership would be important.
Taking responsibility for everybody. [If I didn’t agree with someone] on something, I wouldn’t shut them out. I would actually include them.
So far, Dwayne has remained pretty neutral when discussing what his political views are, and is standing as an Independent candidate rather than a Democrat or a Republican.
He has in the past been a supporter of the Republican Party, speaking at the Republican National Convention back in 2000. He has also been an active campaigner in encouraging young people to vote.
Time will tell whether or not there are some winning policies behind that winning smile…
