Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Admits He Would Still Run for President If ‘That’s What People Wanted’

While he previously teased running for president with America’s dad, Tom Hanks, after being inducted in the Five-Timers club on Saturday Night Live almost four years ago, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is now opening up about whether he would consider an eventual run for office. While promoting his new series, Young Rock on NBC, the Jumanji actor and former WWE star said he would most definitely consider a run for president — but on one condition.

“I would consider a presidential run in the future if that’s what the people wanted,” Johnson humbly told USA Today. “Truly, I mean that, and I’m not flippant in any way with my answer. That would be up to the people…So I would wait, and I would listen. I would have my finger on the pulse, my ear to the ground.”

This isn’t the first time Johnson has spoken about running for office. In 2017, the 48-year-old admitted on SNL that when it “comes to politics, we need more poise and less noise.” During his monologue, the actor also poked fun at himself and joked that in the past, he would have never considered a run as he “didn’t think” he was qualified enough. But that changed after a former reality TV star managed to become president, prompting Johnson to state he was now “worried” he was “too qualified.” During the episode, Johnson picked someone else who was “universally adored by every human alive” and brought out Hanks for his VP pick. Hanks added at the time, “The truth is, America needs us. No one can seem to agree on anything anymore except for two things.”

In addition to his admission on SNL, Johnson also told Ellen DeGeneres in 2017 he was “seriously considering” it after sharing with GQ magazine a year earlier that he had “not ruled politics out” and that being president is an “alluring” position. “I’m not being coy when I say that, but at the moment, I am not sure. I can’t deny that the thought of being governor, the thought of being president, is alluring,” he said. “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.”

In the meantime, Johnson has put his weight behind President Joe Biden, even endorsing him in this past election. In September, the actor posted a 7-minute video on Instagram detailing his decision behind his vote while urging followers to vote as well in the 2020 election. Stressing that he was personally a very “political independent and centrist” individual who has voted for both Democrats and Republicans, he felt this was “arguably the most critical election” the U.S. and world had seen in decades.