Matthew McConaughey, Western governors press for bipartisan vision over party preservation

Actor Matthew McConaughey called on Americans to amplify the voices of "the adults in the room" over short-sighted partisanship in a conversation with the governors of Utah and Colorado on Friday.

"We seem to be in a bad situation right now," McConaughey said. "The extreme seem to be going further left and further right. Decency doesn't seem to be on the table. Rules of engagement seem like they need to be renegotiated, reestablished."

The actor was participating in a discussion on the role of culture in polarization at the National Governors Association 2024 Summer Meeting in Salt Lake City, together with group chair Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) and and vice chair Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D).

Describing the country as "a nation of rubberneckers," McConaughey recognized that bipartisan leadership is "not as exciting as the car wreck." But in the meantime, Americans have been drawn into "a battle for the facts, a battle for the truth," he continued.

"Our leadership and especially in government do not need to look like an episode of 'Real Housewives,'" McConaughey said.

McConaughey, along with his wife, is the co-founder of the Just Keep Livin Foundation, which promotes after-school fitness and healthy choices in inner-city schools around the country. Because the actor has also been vocal about political polarity issues, Cox said he and Polis about eight months ago "had this crazy idea" to hop on a Zoom call with him.

Cox said the governors figured it would be "a short but pleasant call," but that quite the opposite occurred — reinforcing their belief in involving cultural icons in their quest to unite Americans.

Polis pointed to a problematic "perception gap," in which "Democrats assume the worst of Republicans, Republicans assume the worst of Democrats and really mischaracterize what they're even opposed to."

Cox echoed these sentiments, adding that "most politicians and both major parties have gotten completely out of the persuasion business."

"It's just talking to the extremes and tearing down the other side," the Utah governor said.

Along these lines, McConaughey advocated for a middle ground that has "a little more teeth" and is "more aggressively centric" — defying a general assumption that this position is "a neutered shade of gray."

"I want to hear more vision from our leaders rather than just — 'I want to do the opposite of what they want to do,'" the actor said.