Pres. George W. Bush gives actor Matthew McConaughey advice for running for Texas governor

Conservative News DailyApril 23, 2021

AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 09: Matthew McConaughey attended the “The Beach Bum” Premiere 2019 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Paramount Theatre on March 09, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for SXSW)

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UPDATED 6:40 PM PT – Friday, April 23, 2021

Actor Matthew McConaughey received sound advice about running for Texas governor from President George W. Bush.

In an interview on Thursday, the former president said the actor should ignore the critics if he decides to run for office.

Last month, McConaughey floated the idea of a gubernatorial bid for the Lone Star State, a position Bush held prior to becoming president.

Bush said he met McConaughey one time, and called him charismatic.

WASHINGTON – JANUARY 12: U.S. President George W. Bush held a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House January 12, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“I’ll tell you what though, he’s charismatic. Now whether or not he can put up with all the noise, all the rubber chicken circus, you know all the stuff that goes on,” the 43rd president said. “The criticism can be pretty harsh, Hugh, and the question would be, does he have a set of principles firm enough to not worry about what the critics say?”

A poll released this month showed McConaughey ahead of current Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) by 12 percent in a hypothetical race.