Matthew McConaughey may be ready to hook ‘em voters. The actor has continued to be active in his home state of Texas, even after becoming one of the biggest names in Hollywood, and now it looks as though he could expand his role to include politics. During an interview this week with
radio host Hugh Hewitt, McConaughey said that he would not rule out running for Governor of Texas in the future. Would the people of Texas vote for McConaughey? Be a lot cooler if they did.“It would be up to the people more than it would me,” McConaughey said when asked whether he would consider running for Governor. “I would say this. Look, politics seems to be a broken business to me right now. And when politics redefines its purpose, I could be a hell of a lot more interested.”Hewitt asked McConaughey how he would address the massive divide between the Republican and Democratic party following this year’s tumultuous election. McConaughey said his focus would be on rebuilding. “I want to get behind personal values to rebind our social contracts with each other as Americans, as people again,” said McConaughey. “We don’t trust each other and that leads to not trusting ourselves. If that becomes epidemic, then it becomes anarchy.”McConaughey encouraged people to stop making decisions that would only benefit the individual and instead make decisions that benefitted the greatest number of people. “This country has to stabilize first before we start to say this is how we’re marching out of this together.” In other words, just keep living, but live in a way that helps your neighbor.Hewitt and McConaughey also discussed other Hollywood A-listers who have previously entered the political arena, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Clint Eastwood. “I still question how much you can really get done in politics,” said McConaughey. “I don’t know that politics is my avenue to get what maybe I am best equipped to get done.”Texas is currently run by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who is up for reelection in 2022. If McConaughey did run for Abbott’s seat, he could not hold any other jobs at the time, which would mean stepping away from acting and his work at the University of Texas in Austin. The actor became a visiting professor at his alma matter in the film studies program in 2015 and made his
position permanent in 2019. McConaughey, who has dubbed himself the Minister of Culture for the University, has been instrumental in helping the school improve their facilities, including investing in a
$338 million basketball and multipurpose arena.Another stipulation of becoming governor is that the person running for office must have lived in the state for at least five years, which McConaughey has. The actor currently lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Camila Alves and their three young children. Plus, he already has a campaign slogan with “Alright, alright, alright.”In May, the couple donated
110,000 facemasks to hospital workers in Texas. McConaughey also
donates his salary from UTA to local charities through his Just Keep Living foundation. The couple have remained involved in their state in several ways, including participating in
a virtual bingo night for residents of a senior living facility in Texas in April.McConaughey’s interview with Hewitt was part of his book tour for his new memoir
Greenlights, which was released in October.[video_embed id='2064209']Before you go: Matthew McConaughey reveals the hilarious story behind his iconic line, ‘Alright, alright, alright’[/video_embed]
