For the first time in America’s history we have a president, Donald Trump, in office who has no previous political background. There have been many speculations in the media of some notable celebrities possibly running for presidency in 2020. One of these celebrities is Dwayne Johnson, also known as ‘The Rock’. Could ‘The Rock’ actually win an election? I believe he definitely could due to his strong social media power.
‘The Rock’ (Dwayne Johnson’s) True Power:
‘The Rock’ has a large amount of power. He has a large social media following that reaches a global audience. He reaches this audience through a combination of many platforms, such as; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. He also reaches a variety of people due to his presence in both the wrestling industry and movie industry. This means he can capture a wide demographic, and he has the power to influence a significant number of people through words, pictures and videos. With all this power he could effectively win an election due to the large audience that he has the capability to reach.
How Many People Does ‘The Rock’ Truly Reach?
‘The Rock’ has over 172 million followers across all of his main social media platforms. This number does not account for the people who may follow him on multiple platforms. Not all of these followers are from the United States, however the majority of his followers reside in North America. This means if he actually chose to campaign for an election he has the ability to reach many people. He has over 99.3 million followers on Instagram, 58.1 million supporters on Facebook, 12.5 million fans on Twitter, and 2.7 million subscribers on YouTube. ‘The Rock’ dominates many social media platforms, for example, he is the eighth most followed person on Instagram. (Mavadiya) Many people most likely follow him on multiple social media platforms, however he still reaches a large number of people on a daily basis.
99.3 million followers on Instagram = 2.7 times the entire population of Canada (Canada Population [LIVE])
58.1 million followers on Facebook = 21 times the entire population of Toronto (Toronto Population 2018)
12.5 million followers on Twitter = the entire population of New York City and Los Angeles combined (Los Angeles Population 2018 & New York City Population)
2.75 million subscribers on YouTube = the entire population of Toronto (Toronto Population 2018)
Could ‘The Rock’ Sweep an Election Due to His Following?
If ‘The Rock’ strategically used his social media platform to influence his large audience to vote for him during an election process, he may be able to reach more followers than other candidates. Digital media platforms are also becoming more common than some more traditional forms of media, such as; television broadcasts and newspaper publications. However, despite this technological shift in our society the majority of election campaigning is still done through the traditional forms of media. Therefore, ‘The Rock’ could utilize his large social media audience and campaign through both traditional media forms and digital media platforms. This would enable ‘The Rock’ to influence more people as he could dedicate time to the traditional campaign approaches whilst also using digital media campaign approaches. This would allow him to reach both a greater demographic and allow him to reach certain followers more often as they can see his campaign approaches on both types of platforms.
Could ‘The Rock’s Pre-Awareness in an Election Campaign Backfire?
‘The Rock’s pre-awareness definitely has the possibility to backfire as ‘The Rock’ has been in the public eye for many decades. This means that paparazzi and media companies have captured many aspects of his life. This means that if there were any mistakes he made in the past that have been captured in photographs or on video but haven’t been released, there is still potential for them to make their way in the mainstream public. These moments could then taint the political image that he would be working towards. Since he is already very popular and liked by many citizens of the United States, people who do not agree with his political stance could possibly try to bring him down. These people would have an easier chance of tarnishing his image than a typical political candidate because the majority of his life has been open for the public to see.
However, despite how his pre-awareness can backfire it can also be very positive. Since ‘The Rock’ has been in the public eye for a while many people know who he is, know his life story and understand his personality. This can create a feeling of comfortableness which may lead to people having a bias towards his political stances. This bias can be created because it is often easier to go with familiarity, rather than taking a risk. I feel this will also be even more true after Trump is done with his presidency as many people took a risk on Trump and he may not deliver. This may lead more people in the next election to vote comfortably to ensure they can trust someone as president.
I truly believe that if ‘The Rock’ runs for president in 2020 he has a high probability of becoming the next president of the United States.
“Canada Population (LIVE).” Canada Population (2018) — Worldometers, www.worldometers.info/world-population/canada-population/
“Los Angeles Population 2018.” Los Angeles Population 2018 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs), worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/los-angeles-population/
Mavadiya, Madhvi. “Who is the most followed person on Instagram?” Daily Mail Online, Daily Mail, 26 Jan. 2018, www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-5316603/Who-followed-person-Instagram.html
“New York City Population.” NYC Population Facts, www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/data-maps/nyc-population/population-facts.page
“Toronto Population 2018.” Toronto Population 2018 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs), worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/toronto-population/
