Actor Matthew McConaughey explained that whether or not he should run for political office is a “larger question” for him.
During an interview on ABC’s “This Week” with host Jonathan Karl, McConaughey explained that he needs to answer the question as to whether politics would be the right “category” where he can make the most difference. McConaughey and his wife, Camila launched the Greenlights Grant Initiative last month which seeks to help school districts across the nation apply for and have access to safety grants.
“It’s more of a larger question for me, of, is politics the category where I can be the most useful?” McConaughey said in response to a question from Karl as to whether he could see himself running for office.
Asked if he could ever see himself running for office, actor Matthew McConaughey tells @JonKarl: “Could I see? It's more of a larger question for me of, is politics the category where I can be the most useful?” https://t.co/ScQIWDMJrJ pic.twitter.com/tKJbQFCyzX
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 30, 2023
McConaughey said it was a “great question” he is still trying to answer.
“As of right now, to be a private citizen with my wife and to come up with an idea like the Greenlights Grant Initiative, to work with the government publicly to help them, not doing the job for them, helping them, pull off what they set out to do in the first place,” McConaughey said of the work he is currently doing.
McConaughey made the point that what he’s currently doing right now may be “more useful” in terms of helping communities, adding he needed “to be convinced” that politics was the place he could be “quite useful in.”
After the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, 2022, which took the lives of 19 students and two adults, McConaughey spoke out regarding taking action to prevent school shootings.
“We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo,” McConaughey said in a statement regarding the shooting.
McConaughey has called for a restoration of family values, investing in mental healthcare, and “responsible gun ownership.”