McConaughey: Politics is a ‘bag of rats’

Matthew McConaughey opened up Thursday about weighing a bid for Texas governor, saying that politics is a “bag of rats.” 

In an interview on the New York Times Opinion’s “Sway” podcast, McConaughey said he is “learning” about politics and examining whether it is a place to make real change or is a “fixed game.”  

“You go in there, you just put on a bunch of Band-Aids in four years, and walk out, and they rip them off when you’re gone. I’m not interested in that,” the actor said. “Does politics itself need such repurposing right now that it’s like, don’t get into that game? They’re lost.” 

McConaughey said that politics has become a “broken business” that has gotten “even more dangerous.” It needs “redefining,” he said, adding that both parties are on such extremes that he fears they “implode.”

He added, however, that one argument for going into politics would be fixing the problems he laid out.

“One side of the argument is, ‘McConaughey, exactly. That’s why you need to go get in there,’” he said. 

“The other side is — that’s a bag of rats, man. Don’t touch that with a 10-foot pole,” he continued. “You have another category to have influence, and get done things you’d like to get done, and help how you think you can help, and even heal divides. Maybe it’s much better outside of politics.”  

McConaughey has repeatedly discussed the possibility of running for governor of Texas next year. Last month, he said on an episode of the “Set it Straight: Myths and Legends” podcast that he is “measuring” a bid.

“Look, it’s going to be in some capacity. … I just — I’m more of a folksy and philosopher poet statesman than I am a, per se, definitive politician,” he said.