Danny Trejo for U.S. Senate? Before you rolls your eyes, consider the upside

Actor Danny Trejo, right, and chef John-Carlos Kuramoto cook up their vegan cauliflower taco at Trejo’s Cantina in Hollywood. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

After reading Gustavo Arellano’s Los Angeles Times column ‘Machete’ for U.S. Senate? The bold choice for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, I thought, “Why not?” Danny Trejo is the perfect candidate to inspire a divided country to heal by helping each other.

“Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else,” Trejo told the late Anthony Bourdain. “Everything.”

Arellano writes, "Politics shouldn’t always be about insiders or lifers, or people who [...] put in the time or proved loyal to a party or person. Our democracy needs continuous jolts from commoners to keep the political class honest."

I know Danny Trejo personally. We've spoken on the phone, we've shared the dance floor while listening to Chicano Soul, and as a filmmaker, I directed him on the set of the award-winning crime, thriller The Fixer. Mr. Trejo was genuine and professional in every encounter I have had with him, yet what is most impressive to me is his relentless desire to use his celebrity for good.

"I'm just a worker bee," Trejo explained to an audience at the Highland Park Film Festival in 2019, "and I constantly work so I can use my platform to help others." I believe a man who's entire philosophy is to give back to "We the People" is exactly the kind of new politician we need.

Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano’s full column: ‘Machete’ for U.S. Senate? The bold choice for California Gov. Gavin Newsom