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“I feel like I would make a great president,” says Schwarzenegger. But since he’s ineligible to run, he has some thoughts.
By James Hibberd
Writer-at-Large
Arnold Schwarzenegger agrees: Today’s leading candidates for U.S. president are too old.
The 76-year-old action icon and former California governor was asked about the upcoming 2024 election during an interview with the BBC.
“I just hope that America finds some really young blood,” Schwarzenegger said. “Because to me, it is a little bit odd that we are having a battle between people today in the late 70s and early 80s, rather than people in the 40s and 50s or maybe even younger, and have them have a chance at this great, great job.”
This is, of course, hardly a controversial take: Polls have clearly shown that voters would prefer different options than the two expected candidates — 80-year-old President Biden and 77-year-old former President Trump — with voters citing Biden’s age as a particular concern. Yet neither party seems willing to ditch their frontrunner for one of the many younger options waiting in the wings.
The Terminator actor is himself disqualified for running for U.S. president, given he was born in Austria. Yet he was asked whether he wishes he could run (this is something the actor has been asked many times over the years, and his answer is always similar, but worth repeating).
“I feel like I would make a great president,” Schwarzenegger said. “But I feel that, at the same time, everything I’ve accomplished was because of America. America gave me so many opportunities and the American people were so embracive, and they just received me with open arms. There was no one there that stopped me from my success. So the only thing that I can’t do, which is run for president, I’m not going to complain about that.”
Schwarzenegger is making the promotional rounds for his new self-help book, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, which is generating positive reviews. The book comes as Schwarzenegger has evolved into more of an elder statesman motivational speaker and influencer in recent years, engaging with fans online and putting out a daily wellness newsletter.
“I still work out every day, I ride my bike every day, and I make movies — show business is another part of my life,” the FUBAR star told The Hollywood Reporter during a cover story profile earlier this year. “I add in my life, I never subtract. I don’t need money. I get money because you have to have a certain value and the agents negotiate. But I have a great time doing it. I love everything that I do. There’s no retiring. I’m still on this side of the grass, so I’m happy. My plan is to live forever — and so far, so good.”
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