From Wrestler/Actor to The Rock for President in 2020? “Maybe one day” he says
Former WWE wrestler turned movie star could easily sweep the elections with his widespread social media following, from starting as a candidate to becoming the President of the United States. Enough about Trump. This is real news!
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. President Rock Johnson. President Rock. President Johnson. I don’t exactly know how I feel about it. They all seem too surreal to become a truth, but in reality, it is more than possible. This is where we are heading. People who couldn’t believe Trump would win presidency, look at where he is now. Absurd? No, not really. Absurd is the new normal in our society. It only makes it easier for us to believe that The Rock has every possibility to run for presidency and actually be elected. But what happened to career politicians? Have we entered an era where fame matters more than values, beliefs and knowledge? Or is it assumed that good beliefs and knowledge and values come automatically with fame?
Lets start here. There is no doubt that The Rock is one of the biggest influencers today, with a staggering 99.4 Million followers on Instagram alone. He has completely charmed his fans with his charisma who are urging him to run for president. But all these high qualities don’t change the fact that he doesn't have government experience. He hasn’t had a political position to be able to say that right now could serve America as good as a politician or democrat in the sense that they understand the laws and have insider knowledge. But what he does have, is fame, the ability to influence and gain the trust of more than 99.4 Million people, something a politician does not have. Above I asked what happened to career politicians. Well, let me try to sketch this out for you:
Take a look at a democrats social media and their followers on Instagram. Bernie Sanders for example, his followers make up a total of 2.3 Million followers, and most likely more than 50% of them are Americans and I can guarantee that more than two thirds of the world’s total population have never even heard his name or know of his existence. The Rock on the other hand, seen in at least 38 movies played world-wide, is ranked as the 9th most followed use on Instagram. Already with these basic facts mentioned above, we can see just how ahead The Rock is compared to a democrat like Bernie Sanders. Now imagine what he can do with that. Imagine how much more he can leverage his widespread social media following to sweep the elections if he runs for president? Considering we have moved to an era where celebrities are considering running for president, do experienced, high capability politicians and democrats even stand a change against inspiring celebrities like The Rock? Probably not.
The idea of The Rock for President in 2020 already has people talking and cheering, so imagine when his campaign comes around. It’ll most likely be the same if not, more. And this time, it won’t just be Americans talking. It would be the whole world. I can imagine a conversation starting out like “remember that guy we saw in the movie? Yeah he’s running for presidency in America how cool is that!?”. Now thats something that hasn’t happened before. The Rock is already going on talk shows where they encourage the idea of presidency and you can hear the audience in the background cheer and clap when it is mentioned. What’s interesting, is that with one celebrity, comes a whole bucket of even more bigger and influential celebrities. That being said he’s already got a bunch of influencers who can influence the rest of the population of the American voters with their strong voices, and encourage them to vote for The Rock and stand for what he believes in.
Moving on, No. Good beliefs and knowledge and values do not come automatically with fame. The Rock is simply going to need to prove that it does. So, for The Rock to sweep the elections, he’s going to need to start doing some things from now. One place he can start, is by doing what every politician does. Start using his social media to convey his capabilities and beliefs as to how he can better America and the American people. But that’s not all. As mentioned above, there is no doubt The Rock has a strong fan base, people who will be voting for him and celebrities who can influence the remaining people to also vote for him. But that’s not what he needs. The Rock needs to alter people’s perception of him. Yes, he has celebrities already voicing they would vote for him because they know his true self and the kindness he has in his heart to truly serve the American people, and yes, he’s strong but coming from an MMA and acting background, does he know Americas policies and politics enough for him to hold the country on his back? Possibly and possibly not. He need to use those 99.4 million followers of his to broadcast his capabilities and efforts, whether it’s working with local governments, becoming interested in the senate and how it works etc., in order to make him a lovable idol as well as a presidential role model.
But here’s the question. Can his pre-awareness backfire? Could it affect the way we see a celebrity run for presidency? Make us more concerned and think more logically and carefully as a result of Trumps victory? The answer in my opinion is simply yes. After Trumps elections, people have become more stringent and cautious with the decisions they make because the know that celebrity presidents are certainly possible now. The American people, at least I hope, are more aware of the consequences that come with acting without knowing that these things are actually now possible. Not only that, but with the #metoo phenomenon happening right now, it is clear to see that people, now more than ever, are speaking up about everything they once held in. What if the Rock mistakenly mistreated a woman, or a paparazzi caught an embarrassing photo of him, will that all of a sudden become news headlines and affect his campaign and alter the public’s perception of him? When, and if The Rock decides to run for president, there is no doubt things are going to come up that people have never heard before.
There is no doubt questioning that Dwayne has right intentions. But with that being said, it’s only a matter of time before social media catches up to his fame and starts to backfire on his election and alter the way people see him. A celebrity like him doesn’t need to gain more attention. He’s already got the stadium full. He just needs to know how he’s going to make his appearance.
http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a23863/most-followed-celebrities-on-instagram-in-2016/
