The actor was the Republican governor of California from 2003 to 2011. However, he has previously expressed criticism for Donald Trump, saying in 2016, “For the first time since I became a citizen in 1983, I will not vote for the Republican candidate for President.”
Explaining how his time as governor taught him to view politics through a cooperative policy lens rather than a party-based one, he continued, “Let me be honest with you: I don’t like either party right now…It is probably not a surprise that I hate politics more than ever, which, if you are a normal person who isn’t addicted to this crap, you probably understand. I want to tune out.”
Let’s chat about all things 2024 Election
“But I can’t. Because rejecting the results of an election is as un-American as it gets. To someone like me who talks to people all over the world and still knows America is the shining city on a hill, calling America is a trash can for the world is so unpatriotic, it makes me furious,” the 77-year-old wrote.
“I will always be an American before I am a Republican. That’s why, this week, I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,” he explained. “I’m sharing it with all of you because I think there are a lot of you who feel like I do. You don’t recognize our country. And you are right to be furious.”
“But a candidate who won’t respect your vote unless it is for him, a candidate who will send his followers to storm the Capitol while he watches with a Diet Coke, a candidate who has shown no ability to work to pass any policy besides a tax cut that helped his donors and other rich people like me but helped no one else else, a candidate who thinks Americans who disagree with him are the bigger enemies than China, Russia, or North Korea — that won’t solve our problems,” Arnold continued, saying that a vote for Trump would be “four more years of bullshit with no results.”
“That’s enough reason for me to share my vote with all of you. I want to move forward as a country, and even though I have plenty of disagreements with their platform, I think the only way to do that is with Harris and Walz,” he concluded. “And even if you disagree with me, vote, because that’s what we do as Americans.”
Arnold isn’t the only Republican to have endorsed Kamala. The list includes Former Vice President Dick Cheney, Former Representative Adam Kinzinger, and Former Senator Jeff Flake.
You can read his full statement here.
🗳 🇺🇲 Make your vote count! Learn more about how to register, important deadlines, and your state’s mail-in voting options here. For more on the 2024 election, check out coverage on BuzzFeed, HuffPost, and NBC News.