Is Disney CEO Bob Iger Ready To Throw His Hat In The Presidential Ring?

Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger. Image by Getty

By Nathan Guttman May 5, 2017

Democrats may have to add another name to the list of potential 2020 presidential candidates.

Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger is being urged by fellow Hollywood executives to enter the race, Axios reported Friday. Iger, who is Jewish, told friends last month that he is willing to consider a bid for the Democratic nomination.

The driving force behind the move to recruit Iger is another Jewish Hollywood executive: Jeffrey Katzenberg, a major Democratic donor who ran Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994.

According to Axios, the Trump phenomenon has opened the door to wealthy businessmen and women, such as Iger, Oprah Winfrey and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, to feel comfortable contemplating running for office despite no formal political experience. But the report also notes that Iger is contractually committed to Disney until 2019 and may not have enough time to get a presidential campaign going.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.