Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday criticized President Donald Trump’s remarks at the UN General Assembly that the scientific consensus about climate change was a “scam” and “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
“Well, I’m not surprised that he said that,” Schwarzenegger informed NCS in an unique interview.
Schwarzenegger mentioned he was pleasant with Trump earlier than he ran for president in 2016. When Trump requested Schwarzenegger to endorse his marketing campaign, Schwarzenegger thought of doing so. But, he in the end informed Trump he couldn’t due to Trump’s views about climate points.
“The bottom line is that he just never believed in it,” Schwarzenegger mentioned. “And to me, I said to myself, ‘OK, then I cannot really go and be on his team.’”
Speaking to NCS’s Elex Michaelson alongside former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Schwarzenegger emphasised his dedication to combating climate change and mentioned that Americans may lead on the problem with out the president’s help.
“I’m a big believer that we have to do something about reducing pollution and we have to do something about, you know, having people die,” he mentioned. “I felt very strongly about what the way I was thinking, and I totally understand that not everyone has to think like me. But what is important is that we let people know, okay, so that’s how our president feels. But that doesn’t mean we should stop everything.”
The World Health Organization estimates that climate change will trigger an extra 250,000 deaths a yr between 2030 and 2050.
Schwarzenegger’s Climate Initiative and Tony Blair Institute for Global Change co-hosted a gathering in New York for Climate Week NYC.
Schwarzenegger mentioned it’s necessary to change how these points are communicated to the general public. For instance, he mentioned, as an alternative of speaking about “climate change,” there must be a dialogue about “fighting pollution.”
The former Republican governor of California and Trump have clashed repeatedly in recent times, relationship again to Schwarzenegger’s decision in 2017 to depart “The New Celebrity Apprentice,” the renamed model of the TV franchise he took when Trump left to pursue his political profession. Schwarzenegger has been an outspoken critic of the president, condemning his actions across the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. He endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024.
Schwarzenegger additionally weighed in on the consequential fight over redistricting in his dwelling state, calling it a “big mistake” to redraw the state’s congressional strains.
When Schwarzenegger served as California governor, voters backed initiatives in 2008 and 2010 to create a nonpartisan, unbiased residents’ fee to attract the congressional strains as an alternative of the legislature.
This summer time, Republicans in Texas handed a redistricting plan at Trump’s behest that would give the GOP a higher probability at profitable as many as 5 further seats in subsequent yr’s midterms.
In response, California Democrats handed laws backed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom calling for a particular election this fall. Voters will likely be requested to contemplate a proposed constitutional modification to override the strains drawn by the state’s unbiased redistricting fee. The measure says the unbiased redistricting fee would resume in 2031.
“It’s a big mistake to go and to dismantle – to basically kind of get rid of the independent redistricting commission under the auspices of, we got to have more power than the Republicans, and we gotta fight Trump,” Schwarzenegger mentioned. “Because yes, they are fixing the elections in Texas, but that does not mean that California should fix the elections because of that. Two wrongs don’t make a right. It’s that simple.”
Schwarzenegger doesn’t imagine the change will likely be “temporary” as Newsom has promised.
“Whenever the politicians say that we only doing this temporarily with the redistricting commission, we did independent one, there’s no such thing with politicians. And temporarily, have you ever seen a tax that stopped when they say this is just temporary? It is permanent,” he mentioned.
Megadonors have opened their wallets for the California redistricting battle, together with billionaire liberal financier George Soros, a supporter, and Charlie Munger Jr., the son of the famed investor, an opponent.
“We have so many homeless people in California and they’re – they cannot do anything about it. But they’re spending $200 million on a special election. I would rather give this money to the homeless people that really need it, rather than to the politicians,” he mentioned.
Schwarzenegger himself has featured prominently within the “No” marketing campaign. As California Democrats launched into their push, he shared a image of himself on social media at a bench press, sporting a shirt with the caption, “F*** the politicians, terminate gerrymandering,” with the message, “I’m getting ready for the gerrymandering battle.”
A number one committee opposing the invoice clipped video from considered one of Schwarzenegger’s appearances on the University of Southern California and turned it into a TV advert, presently operating in heavy rotation in state markets.
Schwarzenegger mentioned he doesn’t presently have plans to formally marketing campaign throughout the state or minimize further advertisements.