Arnold Schwarzenegger said he’s still comfortable identifying with the Republican Party and said it’s time to stop ‘villainizing’ people if you don’t see eye-to-eye.
The former California governor, actor and legendary bodybuilder said that he doesn’t view Republicans in Congress, including some of the more radical GOP personalities, as ‘crazies’ like others perceive.
Schwarzenegger, who was born in Austria, cannot run for President of the United States due to the Constitution – but he did say this week that he thinks he would make a ‘good’ president.
‘Do you still feel at home in the Republican party?’ NBC Meet the Press host Kristen Welker asked Schwarzenegger.
‘Absolutely,’ the former governor answered unequivocally. ‘When I go up to Capitol Hill and I 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 stuff.’
Schwarzenegger added: ‘I don’t look at them as kind of crazies like some people do.’
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Sunday that he still feels ‘at home’ in the Republican Party, and despite the ‘extreme’ members of his party, he doesn’t view them as ‘crazies’
WATCH: Fmr. Gov. @Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) says he “absolutely” still feels at home in the Republican Party.
“When I go up to Capitol Hill, and I meet with my Republican colleagues, I have a great time. … I don’t look at them as kind of crazies like some people do.” pic.twitter.com/5ZDHEAlwoj
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) October 29, 2023
‘There is some people that are extreme. But there’s no reason to villainize anybody,’ he said.
He is likely referencing some of the more radical far-right members of the GOP who have grabbed headlines in recent years like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz.
For two terms from 2003 until 2011, Schwarzenegger served as California’s 48th governor as a Republican. He also served as Chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for both Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
‘I feel like I would make a great president,’ Schwarzenegger said in a recent interview with the BBC. ‘But I feel that, at the same time, everything I’ve accomplished was because of America.’
‘I mean OK there is the Constitution. We need some immigration reform, absolutely, to change that. But it would be a little bit selfish if I go out and try to change the law,’ he added.
Although Schwarzenegger can’t run for president, he named some he thinks would stand out as good leaders for the country amid a contentious 2024 White House race that many feel will result in a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
‘You’ve been very critical of former President Trump. Is there any candidate in that field who you feel like could bring the type of leadership that’s needed right now?’ Welker asked Schwarzenegger.
‘Well, you know, I don’t think we give those people enough chance because it’s all Trump, Trump, Trump, Biden, Biden, Biden,’ he lamented.
Schwarzenegger told NBC News Meet the Press host Kristen Welker in an interview Sunday that he thinks Sen. Joe Manchin ‘stands out’ as someone that could be president because he is ‘a center guy’ – after saying earlier this month that he would make a ‘good’ president despite not being able to run
‘I think, like, Joe Manchin is one of them that I think stands out because he is kind of like a center guy,’ the former California governor said. ‘He comes from an energy state, but he’s a Democrat. So he knows the challenges and all that. But he’s one of the guys that I think is really a great force.’
‘But there’s many others. We just have to give – in general, without endorsing anybody, I think we have to give people a chance to emerge,’ he added.
Some are floating West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin as someone who could run third-party, specifically the movement No Labels appears to be weighing running him on a third party ticket in 2024.
Manchin has shut down these rumors, but hasn’t 100 percent ruled out a run for president.