JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On this packed episode of Going Ringside we’re talking a lot of politics. We start with the question of whether Dwayne Johnson is the best option for the Democratic Party looking to rebrand itself in the 2028 race for president.
As the party searches for a way to improve its standing with male voters, we analyze whether Johnson might be the best alternative for the party.
Going Ringside has followed Johnson’s flirtation with running for president for more than a year.
Here’s some background:
Story begins in 2017
Following the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January of 2017 there were a slew of articles that began to circulate on Johnson possibly running someday. These are just a few of the articles that circulated in 2017:
But this trend didn’t end with the 2017 speculative articles. As time went by, there was actual political polling done on Johnson.
Not sure our Founding Fathers ever envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick up truck driving, fanny pack wearing guy joining their club - but if it ever happens it’d be my honor to serve the people 🙏🏾💪🏾🇺🇸 https://t.co/6Xd9ADzqX7
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) April 9, 2021
In April 2021, Johnson tweeted the following after the first round of polling: “Not sure our Founding Fathers ever envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick up truck driving, fanny pack wearing guy joining their club - but if it ever happens it’d be my honor to serve the people.”
‘More poise, less noise’
Following the round of initial articles, Johnson made a few statements that seemed very intriguing on both Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
First, the SNL monologue in 2017 was Johnson’s fifth time hosting the comedy show. He was joined on stage by Alec Baldwin and Tom Hanks.
Toward the end of the monologue, Johnson was on stage joking with Hanks about the possibility of running for president when he inserted this line: “More poise, less noise.”
The line seemed out of place in the monologue and sounded like a scripted campaign slogan. It obviously was playing up on the political discord in the country at that time.
But the line would quickly pop up again. Johnson joined Jimmy Fallon around this time and repeated the same line: “More poise, less noise” when discussing a potential presidential run. It sounded a lot more like a planned political catchphrase than a comedic one.
‘Young Rock’ debuts
In February of 2021, NBC debuted a new sitcom “Young Rock.” The family sitcom chronicles Johnson’s life in three separate stages: Young childhood, teenage years and as a young adult getting into wrestling.
The premise of the show is Johnson telling the old stories to a reporter in the year 2032 -- when he’s running for president. The show ran for three seasons and was a success for NBC.
It’s unclear if the premise for the show is just based on the news stories about Johnson or if there’s a subtle hint that he’s taking a potential presidential run seriously.
Quite recently, Johnson did say he has seriously considered a run.
In a 2022 interview, Johnson said: “I have seriously considered it. You have to. When you start looking at some of these polls, and these numbers creep up into the 46%, 50% of the country would vote for me should I run, and I have been -- I’ve been really moved by that.”
Celebrities running for office
Beyond President-elect Trump, who we mentioned above, there have been numerous other politicians who were known more for being celebrities than politicians.
Here are a few:
- Ronald Reagan – Well before he ran for president, the former actor announced his run for governor of California in 1966. Reagan for years had been speaking publicly about politics and was former president of the Screen Actors Guild and began leaning more Republican during the 1950s.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger – He first announced his run for governor of California in 2003 after becoming more outspoken in Republican politics in the years prior. He was involved with both Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
- Jesse Ventura – Before he ran for governor of Minnesota, he was Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, following his career as a wrestler and actor.
- Al Franken – Prior to entering the race for Senate in Minnesota in 2007, Franken had been outspoken on politics for years and was a personality on left-leaning “Air America” following his departure from Saturday Night Live.
- Dr. Oz – Prior to running for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022 he had minimal experience in politics but had donated to Republicans and was appointed to the President’s Council on Sports by Trump. He was removed under the Biden Administration.
President not only option
It’s feasible Johnson could run for a lower-tier office. He has been a resident of Florida, so a few options are out there: Florida senator, Florida governor or mayor of Miami. It’s unlikely someone of his star power would run for a lesser office like a state-level office or the U.S. House.
As far as representing Florida in the Senate, the two current options are Republicans Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Rick Scott, who recently won re-election.
Francis Suarez is the current mayor of Miami. He won re-election in 2021 for a second term with an overwhelming 78% of the vote. His term ends in 2025.
As far as Florida governor, that office’s future is a little more difficult to predict. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ term would end at the beginning of 2027. He is term-limited and cannot run for the office again.
Who will step up to run for that office is unknown at this point.
If Johnson does run for a lower office than president, it’s implied he would automatically be the most visible person in any political race he enters. Not only would he get massive state and local media attention wherever he’s running but also national press would follow his campaign relentlessly.
First steps
Johnson, if he were interested in running as a Democrat, would have to start fundraising and hire a staff. He would also have to do a deep review of what is involved for him to run.
If Johnson were serious, this would leak to the press almost assuredly and garner OVERWHELMING media attention. He would likely be the immediate focus of any race he toyed with. It would be hard for other potential Democratic challengers like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro or California Gov. Gavin Newsom to get nearly as much attention as Johnson would.
Johnson’s other option would be (assuming he didn’t want to run as a Republican -- that’s another story) to run as an Independent. The only real template in modern American history would be that of Ross Perot, who ran for president twice -- in 1992 and 1996.
In those races, the outspoken Texas billionaire polled even at one point with the other two primary candidates. Perot relied on grassroots support to spur petition drives and supporters got enough signatures to get him on the ballot. He was so successful he made the debate stage in ‘92 against President George H.W. Bush and President Bill Clinton and then against Clinton and Bob Dole in 1996.
Despite an early surge for Perot in 1992, he only garnered 18.9% of the vote and didn’t carry any state. In 1996, he fared even worse and only garnered 8.4% of the vote and again did not carry any state.
If he chose a party, Johnson’s first job would be to hire a campaign staff to get him on the primary ballot in all the early states.
Right now, the first states on the GOP side are Iowa and New Hampshire. The Democrats have changed their primary schedule and now the first states are South Carolina and Nevada.
Johnson’s broad-based appeal would probably fare well in all those states. He would need to hire state campaign managers for those early states along with a national campaign apparatus. This can cost a lot of money but Johnson would likely be ahead of the game -- easily able to get fundraising due to his celebrity status -- and he would also easily get a lot of “free media,” meaning the press would inevitably cover him constantly and he wouldn’t struggle to get out his message.
The real ‘blood sport’
For Johnson to enter the national political arena with a run for president would involve serious soul-searching and likely a conversation with his family. Entering into the political realm would mean Johnson would have to deal with unprecedented criticism from political opponents and members of the press. Every serious contender for the presidency has to deal with this.
Johnson has already dealt with political blowback for two things he’s done in recent years. First, in 2020 he endorsed President Joe Biden. That endorsement received a lot of criticism from Trump supporters.
He was also famously in a fundraising campaign with Oprah Winfrey looking to help raise money for victims of the wildfire in Hawaii last year. Being that both Johnson and Winfrey are extraordinarily wealthy, that move was met with a lot of criticism.
It’s feasible Johnson could reach out to other politicians who had little experience or only served a short time like former President Barack Obama, President-elect Trump or other people like Dr. Oz, Linda McMahon or Schwarzenegger.
“If you think it’s rough and tumble on a football field or in a wrestling match, get ready for politics,” said News4JAX Political Analyst Rick Mullaney. “Very, very difficult. And that public scrutiny that public criticism is not for the faint of heart. It certainly is not for everybody. And you have to be ready for yourself and your family to go through that gauntlet.”
The political microscope would be intense and look at everything Johnson has been involved with from his acting career to any controversial wrestling angles he was involved in.
People he was associated with, like ex-wrestlers or other actors he worked with. could also be approached by nosy reporters. Particularly if there was a notable name in the wrestling or acting world who had a beef with Johnson in the past. Political opponents could use that.
Johnson also has three children. Two of them are under the age of 10. So, if he ran in four or eight years, they would be coming into their teenage years and he would have to determine the impact a presidential run would have on them. That includes both public scrutiny as well as an intense travel schedule campaigning all over the country.
Need to go to ‘school’
Johnson has said he doesn’t know politics.
“I don’t know anything about politics,” Johnson said in an October 2022 interview. “I will say that I – absolutely, I’m a patriot, and I love our country and I love everybody in it, regardless of color or culture. Don’t care what your bank account says or what kind of car you drive.”
Other celebrities who entered politics like Ventura, Trump and Reagan all became a lot more outspoken on political issues of the day before they decided to run.
Johnson would likely need to work with political strategists to define his views on hot-button issues of the day, figuratively going to “school” on politics. That could include numerous issues from international diplomacy to tax policy to abortion.
“He has a lot going for him but there are challenges and these are one of the challenges,” said Mullaney. “That is relatively inexperienced when it comes to the issues.”
And if you want to watch for signs that he’s really running in four or eight years -- see if he starts to become more outspoken politically. Most every other celebrity who entered politics at some level spent years speaking out on policy and developing political positions. That will be the cue that he may enter politics someday.
Wrestling names in the White House?
Also on this episode, we discuss the possibility of up to three names from WWE’s past who could be in the White House under the new Trump Administration: Hulk Hogan, Linda McMahon and Glenn Jacobs (AKA Kane).
Both McMahon and Jacobs have appeared on the Going Ringside podcast and discussed their close relationship and support for President-elect Trump. And Hulk Hogan famously ripped off his shirt as the penultimate speaker at the Republican National Convention endorsing Trump.
For McMahon, it‘s almost assured she’ll have a role in the White House. She was in Trump’s first presidential Cabinet in 2016 and has remained one of his top bundlers in his 2024 campaign. Now she’s leading his White House Transition Team.
Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) was talked about possibly teaming up with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and forming what he recently called “MAGA Powers” (not to be confused with Mega-Powers... his team with Randy Savage) to teach children to live healthy lives. This would be similar to the role Schwarzenegger played in George H.W. Bush’s White House.
Jacobs’ future is a little less certain. He’s an outspoken supporter of Trump and close with the president-elect. But his political future may remain in Tennessee. He’s currently the mayor of Knox County and is term-limited out. He has indicated he’s interested in higher office but it’s unclear if that would be working in Washington D.C. or remaining in Tennessee.
Radio Host Ed Dean joins us on this episode to break down these three possible White House prospects.
Also on this episode, we’re doing some non-political stuff with our friends at Hatchet Pro Wrestling. Owner Sam Shaw -- who wrestles in WWE under the name Dexter Lumis -- is here along with Victoria Crawford to discuss the St. Augustine wrestling school.