Will Smith tentatively has his eyes set on the White House. After mulling over the idea of one day stepping into the People’s House for decades, the actor recently revealed that he hasn’t ruled out running for president sometime in the future. Smith, 52, opened up about his presidential dreams while talking politics with Jon Favreau on Crooked Media’s podcast Pod Save America on Monday.
Appearing on the podcast to promote his new six-part Netflix docuseries, Amend: The Fight for America, which explores the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Smith, 52, got candid about his long-held desire to one day be president. Smith, however, admitted that he isn’t quite yet ready to take on that role, joking that “for now, I’ll let that office get cleaned up a little bit,” according to PEOPLE. He went on to reveal, “then I’ll consider [running] at some point down the line.” The actor said at the moment. However, he isn’t sure if he will lend his voice to politics or stick with the arts.
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“I don’t know, it’s like, I absolutely have an opinion. I’m optimistic. I’m hopeful,” he said. “I believe in understanding between people and I believe in the possibility of harmony. So, I will certainly do my part, whether it remains artistic or at some point ventures into the political arena.”
The Monday podcast marked just the latest example of Smith publicly considering a presidential bid, something he has been considering for decades. According to Variety, Smith jokingly toyed with the idea in 1999 after Bill and Hillary Clinton invited him to sleep in the Lincoln bedroom. Speaking with NY Daily News, he quipped that he “told Bill that he should keep my room warm. That might sound foolish to some. But, in my mind, if Ronald Reagan can become President, then why not Will Smith?” Smith again tossed the idea in 2015, when he told CBS Sunday Morning he might be forced to enter the political arena amid the harmful rhetoric that emerged during the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election.
“If people keep saying all the crazy kinds of stuff they’ve been saying on the news lately about walls and Muslims, they’re going to force me into the political arena,” he said. “I mean, I gotta be the president. Come on! What else would I run for?”
Smith is just the latest Hollywood A-lister to consider a presidential run. In February, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said he “would consider a presidential run in the future if that’s what the people wanted.” More recently, Kanye West put his name in the running during the 2020 election cycle, though he ended up conceding the election as votes rolled in on Election Day.
