Knox County mayor, WWE superstar Glenn ‘Kane’ Jacobs talks faith, politics and opportunity in the US
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The mayor of Tennessee’s 3rd most populated county has been a whole lot of points in his daily life – an athlete, an entertainer, a motion picture star, a video game exhibit winner and a fireball-taking pictures hellspawn on the lookout to burn up his brother alive.
Glenn Jacobs, 55, is the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. In 2018, the previous WWE champion adopted in the footsteps of Jesse Ventura and became the 2nd WWE star to occupy a public business office in the U.S. The WWE celebrity, acknowledged by his ring identify “Kane,” won the race for mayor in Tennessee’s third-greatest county. Jacobs handily defeated Democrat Linda Haney, with most of the votes counted in Knox County on Thursday, in accordance to unofficial returns.
“I always joke that since of my character, you know – most politicians are making an attempt to influence men and women that the politician is the person they see on Television. I was hoping to convince men and women I was not the person they noticed on Tv set,” Jacobs advised Fox Information Digital in an unique interview.
Jacob’s character, Kane, debuted as a crimson, masked and mute demon who was half-brothers with lover-beloved celebrity The Undertaker. Kane shocked the wrestling world with unparalleled pyrotechnics, a elaborate backstory and a dim edge not seen in several years. The pair of on-digicam siblings grew to become one of the wrestling world’s most renowned and adorned tag teams – the Brothers of Destruction.

Kane, using two top stars down throughout the WWE Raw function at Rose Backyard garden arena in Portland, Oregon, Feb. 27, 2012.
(Chris Ryan/Corbis by using Getty Visuals)
“As I received more mature, I acquired much more fascinated in politics – I’ve always taken a relaxed fascination in politics, since I was in significant faculty. I wasn’t in college student government or just about anything like that. But I always watched the news and was often [interested] in individuals matters,” Jacobs claimed of his younger yrs.
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As he bought older, Jacobs states he commenced asking himself thoughts like, “Why have I been blessed with a excellent lifestyle?” and “How is that possible?”
“It is because of the alternatives that we get here in The united states, which emerge from what our country was based on, which is personal liberty and cost-free marketplaces,” Jacobs advised Fox News Electronic. “And that just actually resonated with me.”
Motivated to pursue politics by libertarian figures like former presidential prospect Ron Paul and others, Jacobs has in the earlier been explained as a libertarian. However, the mayor has turn out to be more carefully linked with the mainstream thread of the Republican Social gathering adhering to the victory of former President Donald Trump.
Jacobs states that it is not his politics that have adjusted, but the GOP’s system.
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“I consider what is took place is you will find been a substantially more robust libertarian wing of the Republican Get together arrive to the forefront. I was a massive supporter of Ron Paul when he ran for president in 2008, 2012,” Jacobs informed Fox News. “I believe it genuinely commenced there.”
He continued, “We see men and women like Rand Paul now – Thomas Massie, Mike Lee, Ted Cruz – I may not automatically concur with them all on every thing, but nevertheless, the core strategy is the exact.”
Even with his libertarian track record, he breaks with the team on some social views – notably his professional-lifetime placement on abortion. Jacobs is also a organization believer in the value of churches and neighborhood communities for uniting underserved locations.
“You actually have to have an understanding of the importance of social establishments like the spouse and children and like the church,” Jacobs suggests. “And, you know, if you really don’t have individuals, authorities finishes up replacing them. And which is variety of what we’ve seen taking place. So I do think that it is important that we have solid social institutions – the spouse and children, the church.”
When questioned about the irony of his horrifying persona and his determination to religion and small city values, Jacobs jokes, “That is why you would not want Kane to be the dictator – you you should not want anyone to be.”
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“These are our regional communities,” he reported. “That’s genuinely what culture is primarily based on. So I assume that at times libertarians lower price that.”
Jacobs was born on a U.S. Air Drive foundation in Madrid, Spain. Right after increasing up in Missouri, he went to college on a basketball scholarship prior to earning the unpredicted bounce to soccer. The large athlete experienced desires of the NFL, but a bum knee held him from hoping to make the draft. A casual admirer of wrestling, Jacobs believed it would be an attention-grabbing activity to try out – he ended up earning the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021.
Even as his on-display persona, Jacobs has revealed an intelligence that bucks the stereotypes of the enormous, jarhead wrestler. Kane won the WWE version of the activity display “The Weakest Connection,” securing $82,000 for St. Jude’s Children’s Medical center in Memphis, Tennessee.

Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Shermichael Singleton discuss onstage during Politicon 2019 at Audio Metropolis Middle on Oct. 27, 2019, in Nashville, Tennessee.
(Jason Kempin/Getty Illustrations or photos for Politicon)
Jacobs speaks bluntly about the successes and stumbles of Knox County. The opioid epidemic has still left a deep scar in the area’s youth, and homelessness spiked because of to the rampant habit. The mayor states he attempts to be as upfront with his constituents as achievable, on both equally the fantastic and the lousy.
Conversely, Jacobs touts the rise of tourism in his area, as perfectly as an inflow of investment decision and out-of-point out transplants. He attributes this substantial uptick to the state’s disregard for federal COVID-19 mandates, declaring, “We did not go practically as far as other locations did. The governor experienced a ‘safer-at-home’ purchase for a 7 days or two, and then I assume he lifted it, but I really don’t imagine any one paid focus to it in any case. To his credit, that was the [only] detail he did that I did not agree with.”
“Most of the individuals that I deal with here are superior people. I never generally concur with them, but they never have any nefarious intentions guiding what they do. But I do think that when you get – primarily to the federal level – there are some men and women who are exceptionally power hungry and will say or do everything to remain in ability.”
Jacobs intends to keep as considerably absent from the “electrical power hungry” federal level as feasible, saying he has no curiosity in a run for Congress or the Senate.
“I am jogging for re-election ideal now, and that’s what I am actually concentrating on. I have no interest at all in going to Washington, D.C,” he stated. “However, I imagine the federal authorities is quite broken.”

MC Punk and Fight Kane through the WWE Smackdown at Plaza Vicente Fernandez on Feb. 14, 2010, in Guadalajara, Mexico.
(Gerardo Zavala/Jam Media/LatinContent through Getty Photos)
Jacobs states constructive modify and development for rural communities requirements to begin at property, and local politics will prove to be infinitely a lot more pertinent to citizens’ day to day lives than the lawmakers of D.C.
Questioned if he sees a cultural divide increasing concerning the remaining and proper, Jacobs believes there are essentially fantastic people today on all sides of politics, but the loudest and most aggressive are dominating the discourse.
“There is a lifestyle war going on,” Jacobs stated. “I feel most people today essentially never treatment what other people do. They are just exhausted of acquiring it shoved in their facial area. They’re fatigued of obtaining preached at, screamed at, called racist, homophobes, bigots, and all the things else just since they may not agree with some items.”
He ongoing, “I feel what’s occurred is the woke individuals have really overplayed their hand. And you know, the relaxation of the place – who possibly can make up the broad bulk of men and women – are genuinely weary of becoming denigrated just for expressing their opinions.”

Glenn Jacobs attends the 2011 WWE Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Philips Arena on April 3, 2011, in Atlanta.
(Moses Robinson/Getty Illustrations or photos)
Now, in 2022, Jacobs is functioning for re-election. He announced his decision early very last year with a assertion boasting his accomplishments as a result of the pandemic and economic uncertainty.
“4 several years in the past, I pledged to keep accurate to my conservative values as mayor. No person could have envisioned a pandemic and the financial shutdown that adopted, but I’m happy Knox County has been capable to temperature the storm with no a tax increase,” Jacobs instructed area outlets.
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“By tightening our belt and creating good cuts, we well balanced our finances even though continuing to make ahead-wondering investments in our neighborhood. If re-elected, the general public can anticipate four extra decades of management with conservative values top rated of intellect,” he added.
Fox News’ Steve Credo and Benjamin Brown contributed to this report.
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