Matthew McConaughey weighed in on the state of Politics, suggesting it is âgetting dangerous now.â
During an interview with the New York Times Opinionâs âSwayâ podcast, host Kara Swisher noted McConaughey is âmeasuringâ a bid for Texas governor.
She asked McConaughey, âWhat are you measuring?â
He explained, âWho am I going to be? No, whoâ who am I going to be? Where can I be most useful? Is Politics an embassy for me to be of the most use to myself, to my family, to the most amount of people in my life moving forward?â
Swisher added, âRight. So how do you measure that?â
The actor replied, âWell, Iâm studyingâ Iâm not studying. Iâm learning about Politics. Iâm also noting where Iâm going, eh, donât know about Politics. Ooh, is that a place to make real change, or is it a place where, hey, right now, itâs a fixed game.â
He continued, âYou go in thereâ you just put on a bunch of Band-Aids in four years, and walk out, and they rip âem off when youâre gone. Iâm not interested in that. Does Politics itself need such repurposing right now that itâs like, donât get into that game? Theyâre lost.â
Swisher also pointed out McConaughey called it a âbroken business.â
He argued, âYeah, itâs a broken business. And itâs getting dangerous now, you know, when both parties on their own would claim themselves to be democracy itself. And your partyâs identity is more based on invalidation than any vision or validation of what theyâre about. Andâ you know, and right now, theyâve run to such extremes.â
McConaughey went on to tell Swisher he believes the country needs to âredefine Politics,â adding, âWhat I fear is, you know, great nations arenât taken over from the outside. They implode. Civil warâ thatâs the big fear for me for the country, is this path weâre going. Itâs not constructive. I donât see the way out right now through Politics.â
Still, he acknowledged, âOne side of the argument is, McConaughey, exactly. Thatâs why you need to go get in there. The other side is, pfft, thatâs a bag of rats, man. Donât touch that with a 10 foot pole.â
According to McConaughey, there is another option.
âYou have another category to have influence, and get done things youâd like to get done, and help how you think you can help, and even heal divides. Maybe itâs much better outside of Politics,â he said.
During an appearance on on âThe Ellen DeGeneres Showâ in May, McConaughey said he was giving a bid for governor of Texas âhonest consideration.â
In September, a poll conducted by the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler found McConaughey in the lead over Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in a hypothetical matchup.
