Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced that he will vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election.
The former Republican governor of California, who refused to vote for Donald Trump in the last two elections, shared his shocking endorsement on Wednesday X.
‘I don’t really do sponsorships. “I’m not ashamed to share my views, but I hate politics and I don’t trust most politicians,” the actor wrote.
Despite that, the Terminator star, 77, said it’s time for the country to “move forward” and that “the only way to do it is with Harris and Walz.”
“We need to close the door on this chapter in American history, and I know former President Trump won’t do that,” Schwarzenegger said.
“He will divide, he will insult, he will find new ways to be more un-American than he already has been, and we the people will get nothing but more anger.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he will vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election.
Schwarzenegger photographed with former President Donald Trump in 2015
In his lengthy announcement, Schwarzenegger added, “Let me be honest with you: I don’t like either side right now.” My Republicans have forgotten the beauty of the free market, increased deficits, and rejected election results.
‘Democrats are no better at dealing with deficits and I worry that their local policies will hurt our cities with increased crime.
“It’s probably no surprise that I hate politics more than ever, which, if you’re a normal person who’s not addicted to this crap, you probably understand,” he said, adding that he wants to “unplug.”
He then referred to the controversial comment made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday, where he referred to Puerto Rico as “a garbage island.”
Schwarzenegger said: “For someone like me, who talks to people all over the world and still knows that America is the shining city on a hill, saying that America is a garbage can for the world is so unpatriotic it makes me furious. “.
And I will always be an American before a Republican.
“That’s why this week I’m voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”
California’s 38th governor, who served from 2003 to 2011, rarely endorses political candidates.
He previously endorsed Ohio Governor John Kasich as the 2020 Republican presidential candidate.
At the time, he compared Kasich’s governing style to the “compassionate conservatism” of former President George W. Bush.
Schwarzenegger’s endorsement of Harris on Wednesday dates back to the political message he issued in October 2016, during Donald Trump’s first attempt to take the White House.
Eight years ago, the actor joined the list of prominent Republicans who denounced Trump and said they would not vote for him.
Trump ended up winning the election against Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
At the time, Schwarzenegger did not specifically use Trump’s name in his statement, but he posted on Instagram telling his fans that he would not be voting for the Republican presidential candidate.
The former California governor said it would be the first time since he became a U.S. citizen in 1983 that he would not vote for the Republican Party.
Previously, Schwarzenegger also revealed before the 2020 election that he would not vote for Trump in his race against Joe Biden.
His statement today followed suit when he told his followers that he will vote blue in 2024.
Last year, Schwarzenegger said he was still comfortable identifying with the Republican Party and said it’s time to stop “villainizing” people if they disagree.
The Terminator star, 77, said it’s time for the country to “move forward” and that “the only way to do it is with Harris and Walz.”
The former California governor, actor and legendary bodybuilder said in a 2023 interview that he does not see Republicans in Congress, including some of the most radical Republican figures, as “crazy” as others perceive.
“Do you still feel at home in the Republican Party?” NBC Meet the Press host Kristen Welker asked Schwarzenegger.
“Absolutely,” the former governor responded unequivocally. “When I go to the Capitol and meet with my Republican colleagues, I have a great time meeting with them and talking about the environment and talking about the important issues and all that.”
Schwarzenegger added: “I don’t see them as crazy like some people do.”
‘There are some people who are extreme. But there is no reason to turn anyone into a villain,” he said.
Schwarzenegger, a native of Austria, was naturalized in 1983 and previously talked about how he would run for president if he could.
However, he finds it impossible to run for president, in a country where only natural-born citizens (born in the United States or on foreign soil to at least one American citizen parent) can aspire to become president or vice president.
The actor was married to Maria Shriver, niece of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy.
The actor, who revealed that he will vote for the Democrats just six days before the election, was married to Maria Shriver, of the Kennedy family.
Schwarzenegger first crossed paths with Maria, the niece of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, at a tennis match in August 1977. The two became engaged after Arnold popped the big question to Shriver in his native country, Austria, in 1985. .
The former couple married the following year, in 1986, during a romantic ceremony at the Kennedy family home in Massachusetts, calling it “the biggest wedding I’ve ever attended” and saying he felt “the most lucky”. son of a bitch in life.’
Throughout their 25-year marriage, the couple welcomed daughters Katherine and Christina, as well as sons Patrick and Christopher, who were born just days before their other son, Joseph, was born.