A while back, Dwayne Johnson started some mumbling about throwing his hat in the ring for the presidency. When DJ says he’s thinking about something, it usually means he’s planning on doing it. And that was an issue because DJ has no political background and instead of going back to school, interning or starting on a community level to learn politics, DJ wanted to skip the line to the top office. It was a disaster waiting to happen, I don’t care how much you like the guy. But lack of experience didn’t deter DJ, the more he ‘joked’ about it, the more polls suggested voters would back him. And simultaneous to all this foolish talk, DJ was producing a show about himself as a young kid who grows up to be – wait for it – president. It made many of us nervous
However, DJ appeared on CBS News Sunday Morning and ended his run for presidency before it began. Forever. He said he’s taking his political aspirations “off the table” so he can raise his daughters instead. And then he posted his promise to Instagram.
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is sharing more about his decision to not make a bid for the White House — despite, he says in a new Instagram post, being urged to consider the possibility.
The Black Adam star, 50, ruled out a run while speaking to Tracy Smith for CBS Sunday Morning, with the father of three daughters explaining that he was putting his family first. Along with raising daughters Jasmine, 6, and Tiana, 4, with wife Lauren Hashian, Johnson is also dad to 21-year-old Simone from his first marriage to Dany Garcia.
“It’s off the table,” the former wrestler told Smith. “I will say this ’cause it requires a B-side: I love our country and everyone in it. I also love being a daddy. And that’s the most important thing to me — is being a daddy. Number one, especially during this time, this critical time in my daughters’ lives, because I know what it was like to be on the road and be so busy that I was absent for a lot of years in my first daughter’s … life. And that’s what the presidency would do.”
But Johnson now says that he’s “not a politician, nor have I ever aspired to be one.”
In an Instagram post shared over the weekend, the action hero explained why he’s “choosing parenting over presidency.”“With midterms here and a presidential election 2 years away, I’ve been approached by the most influential in politics on both sides of the aisle asking and supporting that I run for president,” he wrote late Saturday night. “It’s a humbling, grateful and inspiring feeling to even have these conversations, as I’m not a politician nor have I ever aspired to be one. But I am a patriot to my core, love my country and everyone in it.
“But being a father to my little girls is the most important thing in my life,” Johnson continued. “To raise ‘em and always be there, during these critical years in their life. I know what it’s like to not be there all the time as a father, because of an unrelenting work schedule. I won’t let that happen ever again.”
Well somebody’s been watching the Tom Brady divorce with a critical eye. This feels very deliberate, and I want to know what prompted it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled he’s put an end to this, but he could have just said no, I’m not running. He made a point about raising his daughters and being the father his wasn’t as his reason for not running. It reads like he’s sticking it to someone else, someone he thinks isn’t prioritizing their family. Or maybe Lauren Hashian did give him a Gisele-inspired warning to make more time for the family. Maybe there’s something else he doesn’t want to get out.
DJ saying he’s “not a politician, nor have I ever aspired to be one” is BS. That’s how we got in this mess to begin with, he floated the idea to see if anyone would bite. I’m bummed that he could have taken this Sunday Morning announcement as an opportunity to endorse the Biden administration or boost some of the midterm races that need it. But no, he just used the midterms to point out how much both parties wanted him.
And right after he tells us he’s not running for office, DJ is out here kissing babies. Of course, this poor baby needed a kiss and a cuddle after she was crowd-surfed into DJ’s hulking arms. This tweet made the rounds Sunday night, and it traumatized a lot of people. DJ was in Mexico promoting Black Adam when a baby was passed through a series of hands up to DJ on stage. He took the baby and cradled it, which made for a lovely scene, but we were all so freaked the hell out watching that baby travel through strangers hands, it was a little hard to appreciate. So DJ took to IG to try to explain that it’s okay, he wasn’t surprised by being handed a baby, because the baby’s dad had made eye contact with him first. And then somehow non-verbally asked DJ if he’d like to hold the baby. No! All of this is no. The good news is the baby is safe and will have a photo of herself being held by The Rock for the rest of her life – that she can sell to pay for the therapy she’ll need when she sees the video of how she got to him.
Photo credit:Instagram, Cover Images and Getty Images
Although his heart may be in the right place, he is not qualified to be president of the United States by any stretch of the imagination. It’s all about his ego. We don’t need narcissistic people in positions of high power, we already know how that turns out to be don’t we? Actually I don’t event know if his heart is in the right place. I don’t know if he supports women’s right to choose, Does he believe in separation of church and state? Does he believe in trickle down economics and so forth? Glad he decided not to run.
Not a lot of people are qualified of running the country and absolutely even less in a context of war. They talk loud when it serms like an easy job, but with the war, inflation, etc etc etc those actors will not pull up to do the job, they know it.
What an exercise in ego and vanity. He comes off as insufferable here.
That being said, all these qualities do fit in with most of our politicians so I can see how he thinks he would fit in.
Having Reagan and the cheeto in charge really changed our political landscape and highlighted to many people that anyone can be president and that simply should not be the case.
I think DJ has a lot of skeletons in his closet and I’m sure he doesn’t want anyone digging into his finances either. The rumor I’ve heard about him is that he is chronic cheater which may hurt this family man image he likes to put out there.
Yes, I’ve heard the same thing… I hope it’s not true, but chances are it is.
I will never forget his tweets supporting Joe Rogan! I also remember a woman reporter asked the Rock about his support for Rogan on Twitter, and the Rock’s response was so condescending and sexist. (I wish I could find it—I think it might have been covered on celebitchy?) Anyway, it made me really dislike him, and I realized that much of his persona is an act, of course.
His arms are bigger than that baby. BTW, I’m sooo glad that baby wasn’t dropped & stomped on! Yikes.
” …he could have taken this Sunday Morning announcement as an opportunity to endorse the Biden administration or boost some of the midterm races that need it.”
He’s a white adjacent MAGA GOP clown. No way was he going to put anything positive about Dark Brandon and the dems out there.
Precisely this. He could have done a world of good. Taylor Swift gets smashed for not being sufficiently political; I think the Rock should be smashed harder for clearly having political aspirations and failing to do the right thing.
(Separately I love your screen name. I’ve only seen the scene twice but I remember it just being hysterically funny. “Yeah, well the form was complicated!”)
@Betsy, Schitt’s creek is one of those series that can be watched repeatedly and still garners laughs (like The Office, Frasier, Arrested Development. )
I didn’t read this so I’ll come back if I want to add. But as soon as I read the title I thought “once someone decided to crowd surf their newborn to him, he knew we were a lost cause.” Update: you mentioned this too! I didn’t know it was in Mexico though.
Yeah. I’m glad he’s not running. Kinda a BS reason but I’m glad none the less.
Good. Unqualified and incapable.
Thank God!
Holy hell, please don’t crowd surf your children! That was miserable. The Rock was good with the baby, but he should have nixed this. Further, yeah, I’m also very glad he’s not running. It should be pretty easy for a guy like him to say something along the lines of “as the father of daughters…I support Democrats.” He couldn’t even say that, and that is not good.
Love him as i do it was never on the phuking table.
I used to like watching him, but if you refuse to take a stand against fascism, you’re the problem.
I’m just grateful that at least one totally unqualified candidate isn’t going to run for president. I wish to god we had a requirement in the Constitution saying that you can’t run for president unless you’ve held some kind of elected office before so they know what they are getting into.
I think this was a publicity stunt that went awry. The wrap-around story in Young Rock is that he’s running for President in the 2030s, and he’s telling stories about his childhood.
The parents crowd surfing their baby clearly see the baby as a accessory, because what in the hell. What is the baby getting out of being healed by Rock, nothing the parents get a picture and to bragging about it.
@ GamerGrrl
That Is definitely a possibility.