Arnold Schwarzenegger explains why he’s still a proud Republican even after midterm blue ‘tsunami’
Arnold Schwarzenegger has doubled down on his political identity, explaining to Jimmy Kimmel why he still proudly calls himself a Republican in the wake of the recent Democratic midterm "tsunami."
Appearing on Wednesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, the 79-year-old action star and former governor of California was pressed by Kimmel on whether he remains a registered member of the GOP.
“Yeah, I’m a Republican, absolutely,” Schwarzenegger replied. “A traditional Republican is someone that admires the Republican Party for having freed the slaves.”
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When Kimmel interjected that the modern party "don’t get credit for that anymore," Schwarzenegger stood firm on the party's historical roots.
“This is the history. This is what I’m about. Someone that has given those slaves American citizenship and given them the rights to vote,” he said.
Kimmel pushed back, asking: “This sounds like all the opposite things that the Republican Party stands for now though, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I have to change my philosophy,” Schwarzenegger countered.
Following the ‘Ronald Reagan Philosophy’
The Terminator icon explained that his political compass remains anchored in what he described as the "Ronald Reagan philosophy," pointing to landmark environmental policies championed by past GOP leaders—including Reagan creating California's Air Resources Board and former President Richard Nixon establishing the Environmental Protection Agency.
“He created the Environmental Protection Agency to protect our environment, the water and the air,” Schwarzenegger noted, describing Reagan and Nixon as “the kind of Republicans that used to go and work together with the Democrats and got things done. This is the kind of Republican that I am.”
When Kimmel suggested he belongs to a dying breed within the GOP, Schwarzenegger refused to concede the party's future: “I don’t think I’m the only one left. This doesn’t mean that we should give up.”
‘A Tidal Wave or a Tsunami’
Turning to the recent midterm election results, Schwarzenegger acknowledged the scale of the GOP's losses, calling the Democratic surge far more than a simple wave.
“The bottom line is we have just seen now what some people call the blue wave. Well, I call it a tidal wave or a tsunami. It’s not really a wave anymore,” he said. “Now the Democrats go in there and they have the majority. And then later on the Republicans are going to go in there and have the majority. This is how it goes, back and forth, back and forth.”
Schwarzenegger argued that two decades of partisan ping-pong in Washington have left voters empty-handed on major issues—claiming neither party has delivered true immigration reform, tackled the national debt, or built a healthcare system that covers everyone.
When Kimmel jumped in to defend former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act—noting "one of them tried"—Schwarzenegger dismissed the law as "so bogus, believe me," before softening his critique slightly when pressed: “Well, ask ordinary people how the healthcare cost is going up. It was a failed kind of… It was a good attempt.”
Public Servant vs. Party Servant
Ultimately, Schwarzenegger insisted that meaningful legislation only happens through bipartisan compromise—pointing to his own tenure governing California.
“What you have to do is the Democrats and the Republicans have to work together like we did when I was governor of California,” he urged. “This is the only way you can accomplish something rather than always pointing fingers and accusing each other of things and calling each other names. You have to get together and accomplish and be a public servant, rather than a party servant. There’s a difference.”
Kimmel agreed on the importance of common ground, joking before wrapping the exchange: “I bet we agree on 85 percent of things. I mean, we’re both muscular. We both have the same hobbies. We both are very fit.”
Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Celebrity, Republicans, Politics
Phoebe Tonks
