Celebrities being endorsed by the general public to run for term isn’t all too new. Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson is a prime example of someone who received several nods to gun for the Oval Office. Recently, Stephen A. Smith has been talking about his potential attempt at the presidency. If he does, Shaquille O’Neal has a plan for him.
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On a recent episode of The Big Podcast, the NBA legend was asked if he’d be interested in joining politics and running for office. Shaq is already president. Not politically, but for a multi-billion dollar corporation: Reebok. As for his political aspirations, Shaq has no interest in being a part of that race, “I would never run for president.”
He said, “This world we live in, there’s too many left and right.” Shaq doesn’t want to be labeled by a side. In addition to that, he understands it’s impossible to please all sides, no matter what a person in power does. So, he’d prefer to stay away from that drama at this age. However, he’s still interested in giving SAS some advice on his team.
Shaq said, “He’d be fun [as president]. And you know who his vice president would be? Ochocinco [Chad Ochocinco Johnson]. They’ll be funny. They’ll probably win too.” Imagining Ocho recording Nightcap from in and around the Oval Office is indeed quite the hilarious premise.
The rumors about Stephen A. running for office didn’t come out of thin air. The media veteran has shown interest in joining politics but with certain conditions.
“I wouldn’t mind being in office… I’m not one of those dudes that’s great at shaking hands and kissing babies, per se, and currying favor with politicians and donors. I’m not a beggar. That’s not who I am,” he told CNBC Sport. Stephen A. would love the opportunity to affect millions of lives, but he’s not interested in acting like a politician.
Shaquille O’Neal is not completely apolitical
Politics is a murky business. The nature of the job is such that no matter who you are and what you do, there’s always going to be a group of people who disagree with you or blatantly dislike you. So, it’s understandable why certain celebrities refrain from talking politics on public platforms. Shaq has been one such celebrity for a long time.
However, the big fella isn’t completely detached from politics and holds some strong political opinions. In 2020, he made it clear on his podcast that he is a fan of Donald Trump. Shaq said, “Donald Trump speaks to an eclectic type audience… I just think he says it wrong… Donald’s like a straight-up guy. He’s a straight-forward guy.”
The big fella also revealed that he had never voted in the presidential elections. However, this isn’t to say that if a Stephen A. Smith-Chad Johnson tandem were to show up that he wouldn’t dust off the ol’ voting ballots and cast his vote for the two entertainers.
