Disney chief Bob Iger considered Presidential campaign for 2020
by Tom Anstey | 13 Apr 2018
Iger said the 'patriot' in him was his reason to consider the move
Disney chair and CEO Bob Iger has revealed that he did consider running as a candidate for the US Presidency in 2020.
In an interview with Vogue, Iger said the “patriot” in him was his reason to consider the move, with the Disney chief saying that he grew up “at a time when we respected our politicians not only for what they stood for but because of what they accomplished”.
“I am horrified at the state of politics in the US today, and I will throw stones in multiple directions,” said Iger. “Dialogue has given way to disdain. I, maybe a bit naively, believed that there was a need for someone in high elected office to be more open-minded and willing to not only govern from the middle but to try to shame everyone else into going to the middle.”
Iger was briefly involved with current President, Donald Trump, in December 2016, being named a part of the President’s strategic and policy forum. In Feburary 2017, Iger warned Trump on his trade and migration policies, particularly in terms of a Chinese trade war, which would have pitted Disney against the will of the Oval Office. He would leave the council in June last year following Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal.
“I thought that being given access to the president of the United States was a privilege regardless of who he was or what he stood for,” said Iger talking about the advisory council.
“The principle of countries getting together and declaring that the world was potentially in peril was right. And when the President decided to pull out, I thought, An unhealthy world, a fragile world, is not good for society, and it’s not good for business.”
With the next election set for 2020, Iger’s contract extension with Disney through to 2021 following the US$52.4bn (€44.27bn, £39bn) mega-deal with Fox effectively rules him out of the next Presidential race. Iger has not commented on his Presidential ambitions for 2024.
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Disney chair and CEO Bob Iger has revealed that he did consider running as a candidate for the US Presidency in 2020. In an interview with Vogue, Iger said the “patriot” in him was his reason to consider the move, with the Disney chief saying that he grew up “at a time when we respected our politicians not only for what they stood for but because of what they accomplished”.
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