Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting political again.
The 73-year-old actor and former California governor has addressed the news of the current Gov. Gavin Newsom’s upcoming recall, as well as reality star Caitlyn Jenner’s bid for the seat.
On Monday, it was announced that the signature threshold for a recall vote was met. The requirement was set at just under 1.5 million.
Days before the announcement, Jenner, 71, announced that she is running for the office of governor.
NEWSOM RECALL OFFICIALLY TRIGGERED AS VERIFIED SIGNATURE THRESHOLD MET
Being a showbiz staple and a former politician, it makes sense that Schwarzenegger would weigh in via a spokesperson on the upcoming race that might come down to the two high-profile figures.
Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken out regarding the upcoming recall vote for the state’s current governor, Gavin Newsom. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
“Governor is friends with both Newsom and Jenner and wants to stay neutral, and as the Chairman of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy he is committed to advancing post-partisanship,” a spokesperson for the actor told Fox News.
The “Terminator” star, who won the seat in a 2003 recall vote himself, previously opened up about the similarities between that recall and Newsom’s.
“It’s pretty much the same atmosphere today as it was then,” he told Politico last month. “There was dissatisfaction, to the highest level. … And it’s the same with the momentum. Something that sets it off to a higher level, kind of the straw that breaks the camel’s back … like an explosion.”
He also said that the upcoming recall vote, like his own, has little to do with politics, but is instead about voters “letting off some steam” before deciding, “Do we want to follow through, or not follow through?”
Current Calif. gov. Gavin Newsom (left) could face off against Caitlyn Jenner (right) in an upcoming recall vote.
(Getty Images)
Schwarzenegger pointed out that the drop in Newsom’s public approval is also not entirely because of his own misdoings, but because of the pandemic at large — comparing the situation to when his own public approval polls plummeted in 2008 when the economy took a hit.
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He also offered Newsom some advice.
“The only advice I have for him is that he’s doing a good job now,” he said. “That he has improved his connection with the people, and that he should continue on being real — being himself, and to really always just think about the people — and not about the unions, not about the party, not about any of that — just the people. And to solve the problems. Solve the problems.”
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Schwarzenegger is set to appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” this evening.