salt Lake City – Actor Matthew McConaughey continued to tease that he might run for political office to a room full of governors on Friday, joking about drinking his brand of tequila with at least one of them the night before and following the advice of another to be himself if he always runs.
Whether the star known for “Dazed and Confused,” “A Time to Kill” and “True Detective” would run as a Democrat or Republican, and for which office, remained unknown. McConaughey was vague about his political affiliation and did not speak at the National Governors Association meeting.
“I’ve been on a learning journey, probably for the last six years,” McConaughey told New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who asked about his plans. “I have the instincts and the intellect that it would be a good fit for me and I would be a good fit for it. You know, would I be helpful?”
He was learning a lot at the governors’ annual summer meeting, he told Murphy.
“I learned a lot from you last night with that tequila, sir,” he joked to Murphy, who had mentioned drinking McConaughey’s tequila with him.
McConaughey participated in a panel discussion with Utah Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, and Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, about promoting civility in politics.
Cox, the genial governor of famously polite Utah, has led a “Disagree Better” campaign to counter the harsh rhetoric and combativeness in government – a project that caught the attention of McConaughey, who has also been outspoken about US leaders doing more respect.
The three discussed how politicians’ need for attention — and online clicks — generates extreme rhetoric. McConaughey said extreme polarization has also invaded Hollywood.
“My industry has to be careful with language out of the gate because it comes from the left. We have to open this conversation with our opening statements and not invalidate a moderate or conservative at the gate, which we are guilty of to some extent,” McConaughey noted of actors and directors influencing politics.
McConaughey suggested in 2022 he could run for governor in his home state of Texas. Meanwhile, he has been outspoken gun controlurging the White House Congress in the wake of that year’s school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, to pass legislation to strengthen background checks for gun purchases and raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15-style rifle from 18 to 21.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat, encouraged McConaughey to run someday and offered advice.
“Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you should only be one thing,” Green said. “A lot of Republicans are going to want you to be a Republican and a lot of Democrats are going to want you to be a Democrat, just be you, because this could be something special for all of us.”
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Gruver contributed from Cheyenne, Wyoming.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
