Former Republican governor and action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger has just revealed his decision to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the upcoming election. Earlier this morning, Schwarzenegger took to X to explain his unexpected support for the Democratic candidates, saying that he “will always be an American before I am a Republican” despite backlash from numerous fans who disagreed with The Terminator star’s endorsement.
Schwarzenegger is hardly the first celebrity to publicly back the Harris-Walz campaign, but for many, his endorsement came as a shock. After all, Schwarzenegger is a longtime registered Republican who pushed moderate policies during his tenure as a GOP California governor. However, the actor has also vocalized his dislike for Trump several times in the past, posting a video message after the Capitol attack on January 6th in which he condemned Trump as “the worst president ever.” In his latest statement, Schwarzenegger reiterates his dissatisfaction with the former president as a reason for endorsing Harris and Walz.
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When discussing his controversial choice to back Democratic candidates, Schwarzenegger openly confessed his dislike of politics, but stated that he felt compelled to make a public endorsement due to his rejection of Trump’s policies and beliefs. “Let me be honest with you: I don’t like either party right now,” Schwarzenegger wrote.
“But a candidate who won’t respect your vote unless it is for him, a candidate who will send his followers to storm the Capitol while he watches with a Diet Coke, a candidate who has shown no ability to work to pass any policy besides a tax cut that helped his donors and other rich people like me but helped no one else, a candidate who thinks Americans who disagree with him are the bigger enemies than China, Russia, or North Korea – that won’t solve our problems.”
The actor concluded by urging Americans to vote, even if they disagreed with him, because “that’s what we do as Americans.”
This Year’s Presidential Elections Have Hollywood Divided
Politics have always been a divisive force, but as this year’s presidential election creeps closer, more and more members of Hollywood are revealing where they stand. Some endorsements, like Schwarzenegger’s, have come as a surprise — such as Shazam! star Zachary Levi’s lengthy Instagram video in which he confessed his support for Donald Trump and urged other “closeted Trump voters” to publicly back the former POTUS. The vast majority of celebrities, however, seem to be voting for Harris, including influential names like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Jamie Lee Curtis, and John Stamos.
Whether these endorsements actually have an effect on the outcome of the elections is unclear. Given the massive social media following of many celebrities — Schwarzenegger’s post supporting the Harris campaign has already earned 10.2 million views, for example — it’s reasonable to assume that some people might be swayed by the opinions of their idols. But judging by the comments below Schwarzenegger’s post, it seems far more likely that fans will respond with vitriol when confronted by a difference of opinion.