Former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign rally in Indianola, Iowa, in January when he called out to someone in the crowd. “Another man who’s a friend of mine,” Trump said. “I’m not going to mess around with — he’s [mayor of] Knox County, Tennessee.”

“Do you know Glenn Jacobs?” Trump asked the audience. “Goes by the name of Kane. Kane! Kane! Where is Kane?”

The WWE professional wrestler-turned-mayor of Knox County was in the audience, smiling at the former president and the crowd. He had given a speech in support of Trump earlier. As Trump turned the audience’s attention to Jacobs, the first thing anyone — everyone — notices is that he’s gigantic.

Just ask Trump. “Look at the size of this guy, man oh man. He’s all man. He’s all man,” the presumptive GOP presidential nominee said. “How tall are you, 6’8”? And weigh, what, 300-something?”

“That’s not bad. I’m not that far away, either,” Trump joked.

Jacobs and Trump have endorsed each other. Jacobs is in the middle of his second and last term as mayor, which ends in 2026. The second term for Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) also ends then, leading some observers in and outside the state to wonder if Jacobs has his sights set on the office.

To date, Jacobs hasn’t said anything definitive. When we asked if there was any chance he would run for governor, Jacobs told the Washington Examiner, “Yes. I have two more years in office and am term-limited, so I’m considering my options, including whether I’ll remain in politics.”

Many of Jacobs’s constituents call him “Mayor Kane.” Could we see “Governor Kane” in the future? If so, it would also make him the second professional wrestler to become a governor after Jesse “The Body” Ventura’s Minnesota win in 1998 on the Reform Party ticket.

Jacobs is large in more ways than one. He’s among the biggest stars in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment, mixing it up with the likes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at the height of the company’s late ’90s boom period. Performing at a high level for longer than most wrestlers’ careers last — the Kane persona debuted in 1997, but he had been wrestling for years prior — Jacobs has long been one of the most universally respected performers in his industry. Jacobs’s character, the demonic, straight-from-hell Kane, is the storyline brother of The Undertaker.

Even WWE legend Mick Foley, the Obama-loving, openly dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, traveled to Knox County to endorse his Republican friend. Foley said it was about the character of the man, not political parties. 

In 2021, Kane was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, the greatest honor that can be bestowed on someone in his entertainment field, where Jacobs spoke before an empty room due to the pandemic. He wrapped up his induction speech by reflecting on his working-class roots, his personal and professional challenges, and the opportunities that America affords.

“In closing, I’d like you to think about this,” Jacobs said. “Someone like me — a farm boy from Missouri without any exceptional natural gifts or talents, other than a good work ethic and determination and the stubbornness to never quit despite the challenges.”

“If someone like me can stumble through life, failing time and time again, before finally finding something he’s good at and becoming an internationally known entertainer — and finally ending up in the Hall of Fame,” he added. “If someone like me can do that, just imagine what you can do.”

There are people who don’t even watch professional wrestling as well as those who used to watch and know Kane. I accompanied Jacobs to the Heritage Foundation in 2013 where he discussed policy at a private meeting. After it was over, one person asked for a photo with him. Jacobs obliged. Then a line instantly formed with everyone who had been in attendance and then some.

All of a sudden, one of the oldest and most venerated conservative institutions had become the scene of a Kane meet and greet.

This kind of outside of politics fame has been an advantage in his political career. When he announced he was running for mayor in 2017, some not familiar with the world of professional wrestling found his campaign curious. When he began to attract sizable support and attention, both locally and nationally, that made a difference. When legends Ric Flair, The Undertaker, and other high-profile wrestlers came to Knox County to endorse their friend and colleague, people took notice.

After surviving an extremely close GOP primary in 2018 — there were just 17 votes between Jacobs and second place —  he handily won the mayor’s seat in the general election. He succeeded Tim Burchett, who now serves in Congress representing Tennessee’s 2nd District.

As mayor, Jacobs, a staunch and outspoken libertarian, famously resisted many of the lockdowns and mandates during the coronavirus pandemic at a time when most leaders were complying, even many Republicans.

“I understand that COVID-19 is a very serious issue and this is a crisis,” Jacobs said in April 2020. “But we also face an economic crisis, with millions of people out of work and no way to earn a living, many of them due to government-mandated shutdowns. We also have a looming mental health crisis as individuals struggle with depression and feelings of hopelessness and isolation exacerbated by job loss. Many of them have already taken their own lives.”

How prescient. He also condemned the stay-at-home order from Lee, the Republican governor. “I applaud the governor for following through with his convictions and fulfilling his duty to protect the people of Tennessee according to his best judgment,” Jacobs said in the spring of 2020.

“However, I cannot applaud any government monitoring the movements of its people and mandating virtually everything we are allowed to do,” the mayor added.

As inflation has risen, property taxes under Jacobs have not. In 2021, Jacobs launched the Skilled Trades Academy and Regional Training Center to focus on vocational education, following through on a campaign promise to be a mayor for the entire community. “We need more welders, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, carpenters, masons, and many others,” Jacobs said. He started Read City USA to help third grade literacy rates. When he entered office, Jacobs helped kick off a community effort to target the drug epidemic by partnering with churches, creating a nonprofit, faith-based recovery center. In March, Knox County leaders and its mayor addressed homelessness. “Instead of spending a bunch of money on government programs that are ineffective, get the community involved,” Jacobs told the Washington Examiner. As of this writing, Knox County just landed a significant manufacturing project that will bring 440 jobs to the area and $300 million.


Jacobs is also his state’s chairman for U.S. Term Limits, which seeks a term limits amendment to the Constitution. In April, the Tennessee legislature passed a proposal to do just that.

A onetime political outsider and novice like Trump, Jacobs now has a positive record to run on. Voters will revisit the positives and negatives of Trump’s record this November.

But if Trump does get a second chance at the White House, with polls and trends showing he has a more than decent chance, another endorsement could be wind to Jacobs’s sails should he make a gubernatorial bid. Other possible contenders for that seat include Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) of the 7th District, who in February announced he would not run for reelection to Congress but later changed his mind, and Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, also a Republican.

All are conservative Republicans, but Jacobs’s particular libertarian brand and journey may differentiate him in some voters’ eyes.

If asked, Jacobs will not hesitate to tell you that he’s a “Ron Paul Republican” with both feet firmly planted in that wing of his party. He was an avid supporter of Paul’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. Today, Jacobs politically aligns with, obviously, the elder Paul’s son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who endorsed Jacobs, along with firebrand Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). Rand Paul has been a Trump ally and reportedly had the president’s ear in the past, particularly regarding foreign policy. Trump called for Massie to be thrown out of the GOP in 2020 when he solely stalled the first COVID-19 aid bill by forcing a recorded vote. Yet on May 21, Massie easily beat two Republican primary challengers and did so with an endorsement from Trump.

The younger Paul and Massie are the two most stringent libertarian Republicans in Congress. Jacobs shares most of their convictions and to the same degree, and where they might diverge ideologically is hard to fathom. Leaders such as Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), along with the House Liberty Caucus and a dozen other libertarian-adjacent elected officials, including Jacobs’s predecessor Burchett, round out this liberty wing of the GOP.

During his time in Congress, Jared Polis was the only Democratic member of the House Liberty Caucus. Now as Colorado’s governor, the Democrat still self-identifies as a libertarian. Former Republican Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina was another chief executive associated with libertarianism, something perhaps less remembered, at least outside his home state, after he admitted to an affair with an Argentinian woman in 2008.

Jacobs could add himself to their ranks should he run. What distinguishes liberty Republicans from the rest of their party is that while most operate as populists — their foreign policy noninterventionism and aversion to foreign aid is perfect for Trump’s “America First” ethos — they stand in contrast with the relatively newer Republican nationalists as well as the older-line GOP foreign policy hawks. The nationalists are eager to flex government power for conservative ends. A recent example of this difference is the debate over TikTok. Most of these nationalist Republicans also identify with Trump and are represented by leaders such as Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and J.D. Vance (R-OH).

If he becomes governor, Jacobs obviously won’t be addressing foreign policy, but on the civil liberties, free speech, and free market issues, don’t be surprised if you see a libertarian approach. In a Republican Party that continues to debate itself over what it stands for post-George W. Bush and, eventually, post-Trump, how different governors perform in office could help shape the future. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) became a national figure long before he ran for president. A decade ago, former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s staunch conservatism in Wisconsin earned him a similar national profile.

And of course, as what happened with Ventura over two decades ago, the notion of WWE’s Kane becoming a governor will be its own headline story before political philosophy and policy even come into play.

Libertarianism remains core to Jacobs’s identity and overall philosophy. He even openly admits that out of all the famous people he has met throughout his career, including Trump during some of his WWE appearances in years past, there was only one time in his life when the overwhelming and ominous “Big Red Monster” was genuinely starstruck.

The first time he met Ron Paul.

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It would be an interesting turn. Few professional wrestlers attain the level of fame and success that Kane achieved for over a quarter century. Even fewer go on to become successful in politics. Even fewer have become governors. None have become president, though it would be a small crime not to note that Trump is in the celebrity wing of the WWE’s Hall of Fame.

Should he decide to run, could Jacobs become Tennessee’s next governor?

Nothing has stopped him yet.

Jack Hunter (@jackhunter74) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the former political editor of Rare.us and co-authored the 2011 book The Tea Party Goes to Washington with Sen. Rand Paul.