Matthew McConaughey Ponders Political Future After a Night Drinking Tequila With a Governor

Matthew McConaughey appears to be mulling over a career in politics — again. (Photo: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

The Associated Press reported on Friday that famous actor Matthew McConaughey shared he is pondering a career in politics after spending a night out drinking his Pantalones Tequila brand with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

The actor, known for his roles in “Dazed and Confused,” “True Detective” and “Dallas Buyers Club,” attended a National Governor’s Meeting on Friday in Utah.

At the event, Murphy asked McConaughey if he had political aspirations, and the actor and tequila brand founder claimed he was gauging whether or not he would be cut out for a career in politics.

“I’m on a learning tour and have been for probably the last six years,” McConaughey told Murphy. “Do I have the instincts and intellect that it would be a good fit for me and I would be a good for it. You know, would I be useful?”

McConaughey added that his evening out with the New Jersey governor was educational, even though they were drinking tequila.

“I learned a lot from you last night through that tequila, sir,” McConaughey told Murphy.

The New York Daily News reported that McConaughey and the New Jersey governor drank the actor’s Pantalones tequila brand and bonded the evening before.

McConaughey also shared the stage in a panel with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis — a Republican and Democrat, respectively. The panel was intended to promote “civility in politics,” according to The Associated Press.

Matthew McConaughey’s Political Aspirations

McConaughey has remained vague about his political leanings in the past.

Spectrum News reported in 2021 that the actor said in an interview with The New York Times’ Sway Podcast that he wasn’t necessarily a Republican or a Democrat.  His political standing stemmed from a more “common sense, relational position with respect to the left and right.”

“Taking sides on a political issue right now, to me, precedes the discussion of something larger and much more important,” the actor explained. “The definition is, what the hell is politics?… before we start saying, hey this is where I stand, and this is where I stand, which creates, already a divide where some of you – 50% of the people are going to come at you, let’s answer these other questions about the purpose of democracy, right?

Despite the non-committal answer, McConaughey shared that he supported mask mandates at the beginning of the pandemic. His rhetoric around the six-week abortion law seemed largely negative, claiming it felt “a little juvenile in its implementation.”

A political career would be a big change for the actor who is known to promote his agave brand without his pants on from time to time. In October, the actor and his wife rode sans pants through Mexico to promote their tequila in an ad campaign.

In May, the duo went bottomless once more for a Cinco de Mayo ad for the tequila brand, featuring the recipe for the Pantalones Pickle Margarita.

McConaughey has been teasing a potential political run since 2021, according to NPR.

Though it’s unclear whether or not the actor intends to run, his stance on political etiquette remains crystal clear. The actor bemoaned the rising temperatures of the red-hot political landscape, according to The Hill.

“You know when you see me in a film, that is basically fictional,” McConaughey said, according to The Hill. “I’ve read a script. I’m playing a character — that’s not the role that the leaders of our nation need to be playing. So much of America almost wants to watch the car wreck.”

And a car wreck it is indeed. On Saturday, a gunman appeared to attempt to assassinate the former president and convicted felon, Donald Trump, at a rally in Pennsylvania. Trump shared that he was shot in the ear but did not suffer any life-threatening injuries.

The BBC reported on Monday that one audience member died and two suffered injuries and are in critical condition.

During a news conference on Sunday, President Joe Biden condemned the attack.

“Look, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick,” the president exclaimed. “It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country.”

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