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Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dismissed current Gov. Gavin Newsom’s argument that the proposed redistricting in the state was temporary, calling the notion “total fantasy.”
“I think when he — when they say this is temporary, there is no such thing. I mean, the longest programs are government programs that are temporary. Okay, just remember that if this is a tax program or if it is the redistricting program, anything that is temporary with government is permanent,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union,” responding to a clip of Newsom touting his Proposition 50 legislation that would reshape congressional seats.
Voting opened last week to add as many as five Democrat-held seats in Congress, which could possibly offset President Donald Trump’s moves in Texas and elsewhere to help Republicans in the 2026 election. Obama endorsed Prop 50 this week.
“In the year 2032 when the independent redistricting commission is supposed to come back, they‘re going to say, ‘Wait a minute. There‘s still gerrymandering going on in Texas. There‘s still gerrymandering going on in Ohio. There‘s still gerrymandering going on in Florida. We have to continue with gerrymandering.’ This is what‘s going to happen. They will find an excuse. So therefore I don‘t think it is temporary. So that‘s total fantasy,” Schwarzenegger said.
Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers his speech an international conference on climate justice in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on Oct. 1, 2025. California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference announcing $11 insulin and prescription drugs with the CalRX program inside a Cedars-Sinai pharmacy in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 16, 2025. (Maria Grazia Picciarella/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images; Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
REDISTRICTING BATTLE: NEWSOM VOWS TO FIGHT ‘FIRE WITH FIRE’
Newsom issued a response to those who oppose Proposition 50 and said, “Spare me the moral high ground.”
Schwarzenegger called the redistricting efforts cheating, and said Democrats needed to outperform Trump.
“What the Democrats should do is they should outperform Trump. To me, it‘s all about competition creates performance. And so what they do is with the redistricting commission is that they‘re going to go and try to draw the district lines in such a way that they get voted in, no matter if they work well or not for the American people. So the American people get cheated on this whole thing. That is really the problem here,” he said.
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks during an honorary doctorate ceremony at the Hertie School in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 17, 2024. (Tristar Media/WireImage)
The former Republican California governor said that he understood Republicans and Democrats needed to “fight” about it, but argued that Americans were being cheated.
“I think that if you want to really fight for democracy, why would you go in, destroy the Constitution in California, tear it up and redo it, do the whole thing? So to me, it just doesn‘t make any sense at all,” he added.
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks on March 26, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/WireImage)
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Schwarzenegger has come out against the redistricting efforts in a post on social media, where he posted a photo of himself at the gym wearing a t-shirt that read “terminate gerrymandering.”
The former governor also told CNN that he and Newsom were friendly and spoke about the issue. Schwarzenegger said they’ve been speaking out about it without attacking one another.
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