Committee officially filed for The Rock for President: where’s the punchline?

Remember when we looked at ^^ this Twitter post and laughed? We laughed because of how ridiculous it be would for Dwayne The Rock Johnson, who has no political experience, to run for president. I even proposed slogans, thinking this was all a big joke. Then he discussed it in GQ and we went from laughing to chuckling because now that it was in print, it sounded less ‘jokey’. The chuckle became a titter when he told Jimmy Fallon it was, “a real possibility,” and forgot to add, “ha-ha, I’m just kidding.” Well, somebody got serious about the subject and it’s just not funny anymore. A West-Virginia man named Kenton Tilford who describes himself on Medium as “writer/organizer/person” officially filed a campaign committee called Run the Rock 2020 with the Federal Election Commission yesterday.

Kenton Tilford, a 26-year-old political consultant and freelance writer, on Sunday formally created a campaign committee called “Run The Rock 2020” to draft actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a presidential candidate in 2020, according to Federal Election Committee records.

“I’ve been discussing (this committee) with friends for some time, but I ultimately decided to create the committee because America is incredibly divided,” Tilford told CNN in an email interview. “I know it’s almost a cliche at this point, but I think it’s tragic that our President (Donald Trump) has not made a serious effort to unite the country. With this level of vitriol and anger, I believe we desperately need a leader who can unite us and not just pander to a small base of supporters.”

“I’m a fan of The Rock,” he said. “He’s an amazing entertainer and the causes he champions (for example Veterans advocacy) are truly inspiring to me. … Of course, he doesn’t have the experience in government that has been typical. But I think we’ve seen voters reject the notion that inexperience disqualifies you from serving. His broad, uniting appeal is without parallel in our divided country.”

The committee’s overall goal is “to build a grassroots community of Americans to show to Mr. Johnson that his incredible popularity as an actor and public figure can translate into politics seamlessly,” Tilford said. “And I hope it influences him to take the plunge and run in 2020.”

Tilford has not reached out to the Rock, or his team, yet. But he said his “hope is to provide an outlet for existing supporters out there and make his decision to run as easy as possible.”

[From CNN]

Tilford apparently began broadcasting his thoughts on Twitter about DJ running for president but has since made his personal account private. Last Saturday, however, he formed a Draft the Rock Twitter account so this guy is ramping up. As far as we know, DJ has not weighed in on this latest development. Whereas that should give me a sense of relief, in truth, it fills me with dread. Certainly, he’s heard of this by now – it’s all over the news. A little assurance that this is not happening would be welcome. As for Tilford’s comments about making his decision, “as easy as possible,” nothing about DJ running for office would be easy. You hear that, Dwayne? NOTHING. We’ve all seen how campaigns go, every skeleton in DJ’s closet would be trotted out. I just swung around to adoring him, don’t take him away now. Can I please go back to laughing about the idea of DJ being president? Ha ha h… a?

Good news – anyone can file with the FEC so, ostensibly, this means nothing beyond Tilford’s folly. I know that many of us feel as Tilford does; we’d love a candidate who could unite the ever-widening divide in this country. But unlike Tilford, I do not want somebody that seems like a good idea, I want somebody who knows what they’re doing and knows how to do it properly. If the last six months (is that all?!?) has taught us anything, it’s that anyone can be president but not everyone should be president.

More good news – the Jumanji trailer has been out for a couple of weeks. And I actually mean that, the good news part – the concept is clever and the trailer is really funny! I might even be excited. Of course, I thought the same thing about Baywatch’s trailer so I’ll remain cautiously optimistic but give it a watch:

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Photo credit: WENN Photos, Twitter and YouTube

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30 Responses to “Committee officially filed for The Rock for President: where’s the punchline?”

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  1. CidyKitty says:

    I don’t see him actually jumping for it, so I’m not too worried. What does worry me is creating the celebrity culture around the presidency. That’s what got us in this mess, we need to keep the election and the candidates serious, I don’t want to see them as comedians or celebrities or celebrity figures, I want to see them as politicians. I celebrity culture to stay faraway from my politics.

    • homeslice says:

      yes! when I hear Clooney wants to make a run at politics I cringe. Just no. and I don’t care about all his humanitarian work either. good for him doing good, but stay away from elected offices.

  2. Lynnie says:

    “But I think we’ve seen voters reject the notion that inexperience disqualifies you from serving…”

    INEXPERIENCE DOES DISQUALIFY YOU FROM SERVING THOUGH!!!!

    Politics is the only field of jobs it seems where the asinine concept of “being able to have a beer with Pres./Sen/Gov/Rep so and so” actually takes precedence over being able to idk, ACTUALLY HAVE A CLUE OF WHAT YOU’RE DOING GOVERNANCE WISE and I for one am sick of it. America needs to get over their anti-intellectualism and inferiority complex, and stop making runs for office about everything EXCEPT the actual office.

    That being send if this trend continues then America gets what it deserve and I won’t feel any pity at our downfall. You can only be self-destructive so many times before it starts leaving scars.

    • Lilly says:

      ‘That being send if this trend continues then America gets what it deserve ‘ I agree. Sorry American friends, but I don’t think it’s possible to come back from Donald Trump and I can see this really happening. Sadly nobody seems to respect the highest office in the land anymore…

      • Zombie Shortcake says:

        Yeah, that genie’s out of the bottle- it’s not going back in. People here were commenting just a few months back “no, please Oprah don’t run for President.” President Oprah Winfrey is one of the better case scenarios now that America has gone down this path.

  3. Plibersek says:

    Not as bad as Trump.

  4. Larelyn says:

    I was really hoping Trump was the closest we’d get to a WWE-adjacent presidency. *sigh*. Idiocracy, we is here.

  5. Nicole says:

    Hell to the no. Sorry. No

  6. Plibersek says:

    Leo might as well run for the Greens then.

  7. Sullivan says:

    Make this madness stop!

    • squirrelgirl says:

      I know some celebrities want to do their crossover into politics… but why jump straight into a presidency???? Maybe run for mayor or something small and gain a ton of experience? I feel like anyone who would just up and run for president with zero experience is just an ego-boost. I’m so sick of it.

  8. Snazzy says:

    I feel like he’d be smart enough to surround himself with the top people though – not just stupid yes men. Not that I’m defending the idea, but I do think DJ would be smarter about it, if he did choose to run

  9. grabbyhands says:

    I’m finding it hard to find this funny anymore.

    We’re in the position we’re because in because people thought having a celebrity in the White House was going to be a good idea (just wacky enough to work, amirite??) and now we’re watching our Democracy, however imperfect, disappear.

    The bar hasn’t been lowered – it’s been destroyed. I have no doubt that people would indeed vote for the Rock, given the chance.

  10. Punkypuss says:

    Anyone is bette than trump and hey the rock might actually do a good job

  11. Erinn says:

    Jumanji came out when I was … 5. I probably watched it a few years later… I know we owned it. My dad loved it, so we’d watch it every once in a while. Oh my god, it terrified me. My younger brother was fine. But the sound of the drums or whatever that they’d play even once the game was hidden away absolutely wrecked me. I was so scared that this was a legit, real life thing that could happen. I’m kind of excited to see the new one… but I’m going to wait to find out if it is actually good before seeing it. I don’t want to be disappointed.

  12. Yeahright says:

    He’s a republican. No thanks!

  13. Bejkie says:

    America, you’re scaring us.
    Please stop.

  14. I don’t mind if non politicians take office (a lot of our forefathers won’t politicians) but no celebrities. No rich assholes. Just a normal everyday man, maybe like Ben Carson like minus the world is 2000 years old bit. A working man who knows how things work and can relate to it directly would be great for this country. The problem with that is money. Most politicians are rich or have connections. Joe the plumber might be the perfect candidate but it couldn’t ever happen unless he had a huge backing. I think after Trump running and winning we’ll probably see more average joes and Janes wanting to run and honestly I welcome that. I’m also hoping Trump pulls a Nixon and just resigns. He’s a good businessman, but America isn’t a business it’s a country. You have to treat or at least try to treat everyone equal (or equity is my preference) but it’s clear he only cares about the 1%ers

    • Eve says:

      Or a WOMAN!! I need to finally see a woman at this powerful position, I am sick of all the mess men have created to the world. Otherwise I agree.

      • pinetree13 says:

        This election taught me there’s too many conservative bible-thumpers in America who would never respect a female President.

    • CynicalAnn says:

      He’s not actually a good businessman. That’s a fallacy. He’s a good self promoter. And no-I don’t want Average Guy making decisions for our country. I want someone smart, educated, and with experience in government so they know how things work.

      • Ange says:

        Cosign. If Trump was a good businessman he wouldn’t have like 4 bankruptcies and a landslide of lawsuits out against him. Ben Carson is far too loony, as is Joe the Plumber.

  15. tealily says:

    Eh, we already have a WWE Hall of Famer in office now, so why not? I suspect The Rock’s politics and mine wouldn’t fully align, but at least he seems like a decent guy. Plus, I’d love to hear his political enemies referred to as “jabronis.”

  16. Jazzie30 says:

    No. America is already a joke with the current moron in office. Must we perpetuate this?

  17. If it’s another celebrity after Trump I give up on America. At that point it’s not funny anymore. I say give Joe the plumber or Jane the welder a chance. They know what real America feels like and is like to live in it. They know true struggle and hardship. They’ve witnessed true racism, sexism, and other prejudices. I want to see a real man/woman win. Someone who wasn’t born with a silver spoon in their lips, but someone who worked hard their whole lives so they can pass on the silver spoon to the next generation.

  18. Betsy says:

    No.
    no.

    NO.
    NOOO.

    NOOOOOOOOOOOO.

  19. Sue says:

    Which side? Anyone who challenges for the Republican nomination is welcome by me. 🙂