If he was eligible, Arnold Schwarzenegger would run for president in a heartbeat.
“Yes, of course,” the actor and former California governor told CNN’s Chris Wallace in a clip shared with People Magazine. “I think the field was wide open in 2016. And I think the field is open right now.”
Schwarzenegger, 75, was born in the village of Thal, Austria, and moved to the U.S. in 1968 to further his budding bodybuilding career. He received his citizenship in 1983.
Recently dubbed Netflix’s “chief action officer and starring in the streamer’s “Fubar,” which debuted at No.1, Schwarzenegger is also the focus of “Arnold,” a three-part docuseries about the life of the man once dubbed American’s most famous immigrant.
But while he’s returned to the screen after leading California from 2003 to 2011, Schwarzenegger has apparently kept his eye on politics. As Wallace noted during an interview on “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace” that debuts Friday on Max, “The Constitution says that the President has to be a natural born U.S. citizen.”
But that appears to be all that’s preventing “The Terminator” from putting his name on the ballot.
“I mean, think about it right now,” Schwarzenegger mused. “I mean, who is there, that is really a person that can bring everyone together? Who is there today that people say okay, he’s not too old or is to this to that, or is … because it’s now a question about who they vote against and not who they vote for.”
Wallace pressed the famous Republican further, “So you’re saying you would run for president in 2024?”
“Absolutely,” Schwarzenegger said. “It’s a no brainer. I see so clearly how I could win that the election.”
He has a point. President Biden’s approval rate is at 40.7% and the Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, has an approval rate of about 39.1% and is facing multiple indictments and possible jail time. There’s more than a dozen other Republicans who’ve declared their candidacy for flirted with running, but only Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reaches double digits in the polls.
While he was in office in California, a constitutional amendment dubbed the “Arnold Amendment,” was proposed that would allow naturalized citizens to run for president after they had been citizens for 20 years. Popular opinion was never found to be in favor of the change.
Schwarzenegger pointed to his win California, in the special election for governor after former Gov. Gray Davis was recalled in 2003, as an example of a similar political climate to today’s.
“When I was, you know, running for governor, it was clear that people are looking for some new answer, not a right wing or left wing, but someone that can bring the nation together,” Schwarzenegger said. “There’s just so many things that need to be done and can be done. And what makes it so wonderful, because it’s doable. It’s all doable. All it needs is people coming together and saying yes, we can do it.”