Arnold Schwarzenegger has called out speculation that the actor and former governor of California is going to leave the United States as Donald Trump starts his second presidency.
Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th US president on Monday (January 20) and is expected to call for a “revolution in common sense” in his address to the nation.
The 78-year-old, who has made dozens of “enemies” since he turned to politics, can count Arnold Schwarzenegger amongst those who disagree with him, having previously clashed with the actor and bodybuilder.
Schwarzenegger, who backed Kamala Harris for the presidency in November’s election, has now quashed “fake news” about his status in the United States, spread by a pro-Trump account on X/Twitter.
The Terminator star shared a post which said: “Arnold Schwarzenegger announces he will leave America: ‘I’m tired of Trump’s nonsense.’”
Schwarzenegger swiftly debunked this claim, stating: “Don’t believe fake news. I was born in Austria, but I was made in America, and I’d never leave.”
After lending his support to Harris during the election campaign, Schwarzenegger has responded to those who are “respectfully” disagreeing with his presidential endorsement.
The Terminator star, whose credits also include True Lies and Predator, wrote: “My Republicans have forgotten the beauty of the free market, driven up deficits, and rejected election results. Democrats aren’t any better at dealing with deficits, and I worry about their local policies hurting our cities with increased crime.”
However, Schwarzenegger said he “will always be an American before I am a Republican”, which is why he voted for Harris and Tim Walz, her vice-presidential running mate.
Schwarzenegger’s lengthy post saw him explain why he wouldn’t be voting for Trump, stating: “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.”
Having grown up in Austria, Schwarzenegger idolised the United States and the American way of life and eventually moved to California in 1968, when he was just 21, despite not being able to speak much English.
Schwarzenegger was already an established name in bodybuilding and went on to win several world titles after moving to the United States. By the 1980s was a major star in Hollywood, becoming a star attraction in many action movies of the era.
He became a US citizen in 1983 and would later go on to forge a successful career in politics, eventually being elected as the Governor of California, serving in the position from 2003 until 2011, representing the Republican party.
