Arnold Schwarzenegger voices support for Kamala Harris as “a former Republican governor”

Arnold Schwarzenegger has endorsed Kamala Harris ahead of next week’s presidential election.

The former Republican governor of California and Terminator actor wrote a lengthy post explaining his reasons for backing the Vice President and Democrat candidate despite the fact he doesn’t “really do endorsements”, “hate[s] politics” and doesn’t “trust most politicians”.

“I will always be an American before I am a Republican,” he wrote. “That’s why, this week, I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. I’m sharing it with all of you because I think there are a lot of you who feel like I do. You don’t recognise our country. And you are right to be furious.”

Schwarzenegger, went on to say that he was disappointed in all those who have been in power in the US in recent decades who have discussed addressing the national debt and “our broken immigration system” yet not managing to do so.

I don’t really do endorsements. I’m not shy about sharing my views, but I hate politics and don’t trust most politicians.

I also understand that people want to hear from me because I am not just a celebrity, I am a former Republican Governor.

My time as Governor taught me to…

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) October 30, 2024

This continued during election campaigning, he said, as politicians prefer “having talking points” for elections rather than performing “the public service that will make Americans’ lives better.”

“It is a just game to them. But it is life for my fellow Americans. We should be pissed,” he added before taking aim at Donald Trump. “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 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.”

He continued: “It will just be four more years of bullshit with no results that makes us angrier and angrier, more divided, and more hateful. We need to close the door on this chapter of American history, and I know that former President Trump won’t do that.

“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. That’s enough reason for me to share my vote with all of you.

“I want to move forward as a country, and even though I have plenty of disagreements with their platform, I think the only way to do that is with Harris and Walz. Vote this week. Turn the page and put this junk behind us.”

Schwarzenegger has constantly spoke out against Trump in the past, once saying that he would “go down in history as the worst president ever”.

Elsewhere, Leonardo DiCaprio and Bad Bunny recently endorsed Harris with the latter sharing clips of Harris’ plans for Puerto Rico – a territory of the United States – four times on his Instagram stories.

It came following Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, where comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean.”

Hinchcliffe’s comments led to actress Aubrey Plaza also hitting out at the comedian and telling him to “go fuck yourself”. 

The post Arnold Schwarzenegger voices support for Kamala Harris as “a former Republican governor” appeared first on NME.