the rock_raw

The Rock made the cover of GQ’s comedy issue and in it they followed The Rock around for three days and you can see the photos at this link. Those are great, but here’s the part that got people talking. When asked about the rumor that he may be thinking of running for president he said, “I think that it’s a real possibility“.

He elaborated on it even more.

“A year ago it started coming up more and more. There was a real sense of earnestness, which made me go home and think, ‘Let me really rethink my answer and make sure I am giving an answer that is truthful and also respectful.’ I didn’t want to be flippant—‘We’ll have three days off for a weekend! No taxes!’ “

He also clarified why he didn’t endorse Clinton or Trump publicly in the last election.

“I feel like I’m in a position now where my word carries a lot of weight and influence, which of course is why they want the endorsement. But I also have a tremendous amount of respect for the process and felt like if I did share my political views publicly, a few things would happen—and these are all conversations I have with, in the gym at four o’clock in the morning—I felt like it would either make people unhappy with the thought of whatever my political view was. And, also, it might sway an opinion, which I didn’t want to do.”

Then he opened up about Trump being president.

“Mmm… With any job you come into, you’ve got to prove yourself. And… Personally, I feel that if I were president, poise would be important. Leadership would be important. Taking responsibility for everybody. If I didn’t agree with someone on something, I wouldn’t shut them out. I would actually include them. The first thing we’d do is we’d come and sit down and we’d talk about it. It’s hard to categorize right now how I think he’s doing, other than to tell you how I would operate, what I would like to see.”

He continued:

“I’d like to see a better leadership. I’d like to see a greater leadership. When there’s a disagreement, and you have a large group of people that you’re in a disagreement with—for example, the media—I feel like it informs me that I could be better. We all have issues, and we all gotta work our shit out. And I feel like one of the qualities of a great leader is not shutting people out. I miss that part. Even if we disagree, we’ve got to figure it out. Because otherwise I feel, as an American, all I hear and all I see in the example you’re setting is ‘Now I’m shutting you out. And you can’t come.’ Disagreement informs us. The responsibility as president—I take responsibility for everyone. Especially when you disagree with me. If there’s a large number of people disagreeing, there might be something I’m not seeing, so let me see it. Let me understand it.”

On behalf of the rest of the world, Rock. Please make that happen.

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