Hollywood actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson cooked up a storm in Washington, D.C., after he was spotted rubbing shoulders with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The legendary wrestler caused a stir on Wednesday when he met with Senate representatives to discuss military recruitment.
However, his appearance stoked further buzz about a possible White House bid, after the actor revealed last week that was approached by political parties in 2022. Johnson remained tight-lipped about any possible campaign though, and declined to answer when reporters asked if he was considering running. He and XFL business partner Dany Garcia were on the Hill to meet with several Senators, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin.
They discussed The Fast and Furious star’s efforts to help with military recruitment and his XFL football league, NBC reports. Senator Jon Tester, who arranged the sit-down, told the outlet that Johnson, is ‘going to advocate for people to join the military over a period of time.’ ‘He’s got an incredible following, maybe the biggest,’ he added.
Senator Susan Collins admitted she ‘got as many pictures with him as I possibly could.’ ‘I’m really pleased that he’s helping with military recruitment,’ she said. ‘I think he is a powerful influencer.’ Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ),Todd Young (R-IN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) were also among the group who met Johnson. As well as military recruitment, the film producer spoke with the representatives about the XFL which he purchased in 2020 along with RedBird Capital.
Video taken from inside the Capitol showed the Rock posing up for photographs with star stuck fans. Another clip showed excited staffers filming as he left the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon. Outside the chaos continued with the 51-year-old stopping to greet Capitol police and other staff who had come out to see him.
Johnson revealed last week on Trevor Noah’s What Now podcast that he has been inundated with requests to run for office. ‘At the end of the year . . . in 2022 I got a visit from the parties, asking me if I was going to run and if I could run,’ Johnson said. ‘It was a big deal. And it came out of the blue. And it was one after the other.’
On Jimmy Fallon’s show, he shared that the prospect had been floated for several years. ‘This run-for-president talk has kind of been in the ether for the past couple of years, and it never stops being surreal,’ he said.
He also referenced a poll which found, ‘almost 50 percent of Americans would support me running for president,’ he added. ‘It was just crazy.’ However, he suggested he would not want to take a position that would impinge on his time with his three children, who are aged 22, seven and five.
Johnson’s visit came after it emerged that the Army, Navy and Air Force all fell short on their recruitment goals at the end of the last fiscal year. This was despite the Army pulling in 50,000 recruits, 15,000 short of its target.
