Schwarzenegger declares he’s still a ‘traditional Republican’ as GOP has ‘changed’ around him

Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed on “Real Time” Friday whether he is still a Republican. 

He responded to host Bill Maher, who challenged if what made the Austrian-born bodybuilder want to be a Republican “still applies” to the party today. 

“You think that’s still the party? You think that still applies to the Republican Party, what made you want to be a Republican, where they are today?” Maher asked.

The “Terminator” actor, who served as California’s last Republican governor from 2003-2011, argued the Republican Party has “changed” before answering Maher’s question.

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“Bill, things change,” Schwarzenegger replied. “It’s very clear that it has changed. I’m a traditional Republican.”

The former politician went on to tout the accomplishments of “great Republicans,” including former Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. 

“I’m the kind of a Republican – like Lincoln, who made sure that slavery stops,” Schwarzenegger said. “He made sure that the Blacks got the right to vote. He made sure, the Republican Party then, made sure that the Blacks became citizens of the United States…all of those kinds of things – Republicans did that.”

“The party has changed now…but that doesn’t mean that we have to change,” he continued. “We have to fight to get the party back and to get the philosophy back.”

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Maher recalled when Schwarzenegger opened up about his personal experience with socialism, citing his “moving” speech at the RNC in 2004. 

“You talked about growing up at a time when Vienna was actually occupied,” Maher recounted.

“That’s right, Austria was still occupied by the Russians,” Schwarzenegger said.

Schwarzenegger “didn’t know” what American political parties were before entering the country, the late-night host noted. 

“So you saw socialism firsthand,” Maher said. “You had heard the Democrats speak and you heard I think Nixon talk, and you heard the ideas of the Republican Party. And you said, ‘I’m a Republican.’” 

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As for politics today, Schwarzenegger emphasized leaders should reach across the aisle in negotiations. 

“People should know that it is important that we serve the people, not the parties,” he said.

He recalled, “[When] I was in Sacramento, I got together with the Democrats, I made it very clear: I may think differently than you sometimes, but you are not my enemy.”

“I love working with you because, with the Republican brain and with the Democratic brain together, we’ve the ultimate brain power we could really accomplish things,” he continued.

“But that’s California,” Maher countered. “California isn’t America, California’s one of those states, yes, where a moderate Republican governor can do well because it’s a very blue state.”

“We have to go talk to each other, rather than hating each other,” Schwarzenegger stressed. “Because that’s what people want and that’s what the people need.” 

The former governor championed the creation of California’s independent redistricting commission, which would be suspended under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 50 amid the state’s redistricting battle. 

Newsom’s 2025 ballot measure aims to have the state legislature draw new maps to retaliate against redistricting efforts in Republican-controlled states like Texas.