McConaughey Gives Mask Foes Bad Rap
and Says He'd Ditch Band-Aid Governing
Capitol Inside
May 29, 2021
Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey appeared to be ruling out a run for governor in 2022 as a Republican this week when he portayed people who've opposed masks as selfish crybabies whose behavior has been unpatriotic, senseless and petty.
The actor who's a longtime Austin resident took a generic shot at Donald Trump and his supporters on the far right without naming names in an interview that celebrity talk show host Carlos Watson conducted on YouTube and the media firm OZY teased with several excerpts that it make public on Thursday.
McConaughey could have been talking about Governor Greg Abbott as well in light of the way he's seized on masks as a political issue with rulings that have appeared to cater to Trump's base a year before he's on the ballot again with the famous East Texas native as a potential foe at some point.
McConaughey ran the risk of igniting Trump's wrath by making fun of anti-maskers and suggesting that they'd stubbornly refused to "take one for the team" to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 with defiant positions that have shown no concern for the greater good.
"I'm like, come on man, I'm not believing you're really scared of this little cotton thing," McConaughey said. "And I'm not believing you really feel that takes away your identity and your freedom. This is a short-term inconvenience for long-term freedom."
McConaughey elaborated. "We've got to make some sacrifices for larger rewards tomorrow," he added in the interview with Watson - a former new anchor for CNN and CNBC. "I think the best example for my money this last year is the damn dispute over the masks that got politicized."
The critical analysis gave McConaughey an opportunity to demonstrate that he isn't afraid of the former president as Abbott and all the Republicans in the Texas Legislature have appeared to be throughout the 2021 regular session.
But McConaughey gave no hints on a potential gameplan for a gubernatorial quest in 2022 after keeping his cards to his famous chest on whether he'd run in the Democratic or GOP primary as someone who hasn't a history of political involvement up to now/
Watson asked McConaughey if he got a buzz from the thought of the challenges that he could expect in a debut campaign against a veteran politician like Abbott and where it could lead.
"Challenging it definitely would be, but I don't know if that's the buzz," McConaughey said. "I'm not interested in going and putting a bunch of Band-Aids on that are gonna be ripped off as soon as I'm out. I'm interested in building something that can last."
Progress by Saturday May 29 on measures that GOP leaders and lawmakers have treated as major priorities in the 2021 session that must end by midnight May 31.
