A night of drinking tequila with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has actor Matthew McConaughey once again kicking around the idea of going into politics.
Murphy asked the 54-year-old Academy Award winner about his political ambitions during Friday’s National Governors Association meeting in Utah, where McConaughey participated in a panel discussion with Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.
“I learned a lot from you last night through that tequila, sir,” he told Murphy, who’d mentioned imbibing in the Texas native’s Pantalones tequila brand the night before.
There was buzz in 2022 that McConaughey might get involved in Texas’ gubernatorial race between Republican Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O’Rourke.
The actor said Friday he’s been on a six-year “learning tour” to evaluate whether he’d enjoy that line of work or be an effective politician.
McConaughey tends to play his political opinions close to the vest.
In 2018, he told the BBC it was time for the United States “to embrace and shake hands with this fact” that Donald Trump was president and think of “constructive” ways to move forward for those who support the 45th president and those who do not.
SIRIUS XM radio host and 1994 New York gubernatorial candidate Howard Stern addressed rumors of McConaughey’s political ambitions in 2021.
“You know what it is with these guys is that they don’t understand, once you run for office, you actually have to give an opinion,” Stern said.
He added that if McConaughey seriously tried tackling gun control, “half of Texas is going to take him and throw him out a window.”
But after a mass shooting in his native town of Uvalde left 22 people dead, McConaughey penned an essay for the Austin American-Statesman calling for sensible gun control.
“I believe that responsible, law-abiding Americans have a Second Amendment right, enshrined by our founders, to bear arms,” he wrote. “I also believe we have a cultural obligation to take steps toward slowing down the senseless killing of our children.”
Texas station KHOU looked into the “mystery” of McConaughey’s political affiliations in 2021. The outlet found no indication of political contributions or expressions of support for either of the country’s major political parties.
With News Wire Services
