Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Matthew McConaughey has teased a possible political run for office.
The 54-year-old actor attended the National Governors Association 2024 summer meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 12. At the event, McConaughey – known for his roles in Dazed and Confused and True Detective – spoke on a panel with bipartisan leaders on how to promote civility in politics.
When asked by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, about his political aspirations, McConaughey replied: “Yes. I have thought about running for office, getting into this category.”
“I’m on a learning tour and have been for probably the last six years of understanding what this category means,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “Do I have instincts, intellect that it would be a good fit for me and I would be a good fit for it. That would be useful.
“I’m still on that learning tour, and, you know, days like this. I’m learning a lot. Last night, I learned a lot. I learned a lot from you last night. Through those tequila, through that tequila, sir,” he told Murphy, who had mentioned drinking McConaughey’s Pantalones Tequila with him.
According to Fox News, Hawaii Governor Josh Green then encouraged McConaughey to run for office. However, he also didn’t want him to feel pressured into choosing certain party affiliations such as Republican or Democrat.
“Please don’t fall into the trap to think that you have to be just one thing, because I think you’re so, you know, warm and likable. A lot of Republicans who want you to be Republican, a lot of Democrats who want you to be a Democrat, just be you, because that might be something special for all of us,” Green said.
The How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days actor later explained that he’s noticed polarization in Hollywood, especially when it comes to actors and directors weighing in on politics.
“My industry has to watch its tongue out of the gate because it’s coming from the left. We have to open that conversation with our opening statements and not invalidate a moderate or conservative at the gate, which we’re guilty of to an extent,” McConaughey said.
The father of three also urged American voters to amplify the voices of “the adults in the room” as he hinted at his thoughts on the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
“We seem to be in a bad situation right now,” McConaughey said, per The Hill. “The extreme seem to be going further left and further right. Decency doesn’t seem to be on the table. Rules of engagement seem like they need to be renegotiated, reestablished.”
The Interstellar star acknowledged there’s an “entertainment” factor in American politics, but quipped that government shouldn’t “look like an episode of Real Housewives.”
He added: “I understand it’s hard to market and sell success in how people negotiate, because it’s not as fun, it’s not as sexy, it’s not as exciting as the car wreck. We’re a nation of rubberneckers.
“I think right now we’re all caught up in short-term, short-money wins. And so we come to the table, we argue, we call each other names, and America sees a lot of us when we do that – This is entertainment. I’m in the entertainment business. Our leadership and our leaders don’t need to be in the entertainment business.”
This isn’t the first time McConaughey has hinted at a potential run for political office. The Texas native has previously shared he’s considered running for governor of the Lone Star State. “I don’t know. I mean, that wouldn’t be up to me. It would be up to the people more than it would me,” he said on The Hugh Hewitt Show in 2020.
However, just one year later, McConaughey announced he decided not to “take the path” of running for governor of Texas.
While the Oscar winner has been vague about his political affiliation, McConaughey has been a vocal advocate for gun control following the Robb Elementary School shooting in May 2022 that occurred in his hometown of Uvalde.
