Glenn Jacobs, the former WWE superstar who became the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, said he would advise Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson against stepping into the political ring.
Jacobs appeared on “Going Ringside” earlier in the week and was asked about the possibility of Johnson – a WWE legend, movie star and TKO board member – trying his hand at politics.
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs (Jamar Coach/Jackson Sun/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images/File)
“If I’m him, I wouldn’t. Politics is incredibly contentious and toxic right now,” Jacobs said. “Everybody likes Dwyane, no matter where you are on the political spectrum, because he’s a great entertainer, and he’s a good guy.
“Got to remember that no matter what you say in politics, 50% of the people are just going to knee-jerk disagree with you, and you’re going to really tick some folks off. I’ve had to deal with that, obviously. If I were him, I would advise him not to do that, personally.”
Johnson’s name has been floated as a potential presidential candidate and at one point had aspirations to run. But he said in 2022 all of that took a backseat to raising a family.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (WWE/Getty Images/File)
Jacobs said there are still ways to make an impact behind the scenes, and while Johnson has historically been likable, it’s not going to be the same if he steps into the political sphere.
“What’s going to happen is that you’re going to immediately alienate almost half your fan base, which can be an uncomfortable place to be,” he added.
Johnson got a taste of how toxic politics can be after he endorsed Joe Biden for president in 2020. He told “Fox & Friends” in April the endorsement was right for him at the time but that he regretted the division it caused.
“Am I going to do that again this year? That answer’s no. I’m not going to do that,” he told Fox News’ Will Cain at the time. “Because what I realized that what that caused back then was something that tears me up in my guts back then and now, which is division. And that got me.”
“The takeaway after that months and months and months, I started to realize, like, ‘Oh man, that caused an incredible amount of division in our country.’ So I realize now going into this election, I’m not going to do that. I wouldn’t do that because my goal is to bring our country together. I believe in that, in my DNA. So in the spirit of that, there’s going to be no endorsement.”
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports/File)
“Not that I’m afraid of it at all, but it’s just I realize that this level of influence – I’m going keep my politics to myself, and I think it’s between me and the ballot box.”
Fox News’ Kristine Parks contributed to this report.
