Actor Matthew McConaughey continued to hint Friday that he might run for political office before a roomful of governors, joking about drinking his brand of tequila with at least one of them the night before and taking advice from another to be himself if he ever runs.
It is not known whether the star known for his roles in “Dazed and Confused,” “A Time to Kill” and “True Detective” will run as a Democrat or Republican, or for which office. McConaughey has been vague about his political affiliation and did not reveal his stance at the National Governors Association meeting.
“I’m in a learning stage and I probably have been for the last six years,” McConaughey told New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who asked him about his plans. “Do I have the instincts and the intellect to know if this would be a good fit for me and if it would be helpful?”
He was learning a lot at the governors’ annual summer meeting, he told Murphy.
“I learned a lot about you last night from that tequila, sir,” he joked to Murphy, who had mentioned drinking McConaughey’s tequila with him.
McConaughey participated in a roundtable discussion with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, on how to promote civility in politics.
Cox, the affable governor of famously polite Utah, has spearheaded a campaign called “Disagree Better” to counter harsh rhetoric and combativeness in government, a project that has caught the attention of McConaughey, who has also been outspoken about American leaders practicing greater respect.
The three discussed how politicians’ need for attention (and clicks) drives extreme rhetoric. McConaughey said extreme polarization has seeped into Hollywood, too.
“My industry has to be careful about what it says because it comes from the left. We have to start that conversation with our initial statements and not invalidate a moderate or conservative from the beginning, which we are guilty of to a certain extent,” McConaughey said of actors and directors who weigh in on politics.
McConaughey Hinted at in 2022 He could run for governor in his home state of Texas. In the meantime, he has been outspoken about gun controlurging Congress from the White House after that year’s school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, to pass legislation to strengthen background checks for gun purchases and raise the minimum age to buy an AR-15-style rifle from 18 to 21.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat, encouraged McConaughey to run for office one day and offered him advice.
“Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have to be just one thing,” Green said. “A lot of Republicans will want you to be Republicans and a lot of Democrats will want you to be Democrats — just be yourself because that could be something special for all of us.”
