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Dwayne Johnson says he needs 'experience' before presidential run

By Wade Sheridan
Dwayne Johnson (L) with his mother Ata Johnson. The actor told Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show" that he needed experience before running for president. File Photo by Dennis Van Tine/UPI
1 of 2 | Dwayne Johnson (L) with his mother Ata Johnson. The actor told Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show" that he needed experience before running for president. File Photo by Dennis Van Tine/UPI | License Photo

July 12 (UPI) -- Dwayne Johnson appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Wednesday where the actor discussed how serious he was about running for president.

"So when that started picking up, of course when I'm asked -- yes, I have incredible respect for our American people and our country -- so I said 'Yes, I would consider it,'" Johnson said to Colbert about the possibility of running for office.

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"But at the same time, Stephen, I mean look, I'm not delusional at all. Like, I feel like I... you know what it is? I need that thing... oh, experience," he continued. "So if that were to happen in 2024, 2028, I would have to go to work and get some experience, you know, and understand policy."

Calls for Johnson to run for president began in June 2016 following the release of an op-ed piece in The Washington Post that suggested he could win an election based on his likability and ancestry.

The former WWE star also shared a shot of Tequila with Colbert on the show while the pair raised their eyebrows, sang a Samoan song and discussed his family's legacy in professional wrestling.

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"It means, like, 'Answer me, oh my love, just what it is that I am guilty of,'" Johnson said of the tune he performed. "I will say I have never looked a man directly in the eye when I sang that."

Johnson, when detailing his family's connection to professional wrestling, explained how his grandmother was the first female wrestling promoter in the history of the business.

"She was a badass too, by the way," he said and explained that she was unaware at first about the choreography involved in wrestling and got physically involved in a match that featured her husband.

"She jumps in the ring, takes her clogs off and starts beating his ass in the ring," Johnson said of his grandmother's response to seeing his grandfather get beat-up during a match.

Colbert mentioned that Johnson's 16-year-old daughter Simone Alexandra Johnson was interested in becoming a professional wrestler.

"I love the idea of her doing it only because the wrestling business these days are a lot different than when I was there," Johnson said.

"I feel very comfortable with it."

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