Arnold Schwarzenegger Talks . . . “What Would Happen If George Clooney Would Run

While I still don't think George wants to go into politics, a governorship might be feasible, perhaps?  We can but dream, right?

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Arnold Schwarzenegger Talks Star Power And The 2021 CA Recall: “What Would Happen If George Clooney Would Run…If Brad Pitt Would Run…If Oprah Winfrey Would Run?”

By Tom Tapp

Deputy Managing Editor

March 31, 2021

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(L-R) Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Oprah

Amid the looming California recall effort, Politico spoke with a showbiz insider with a unique view on the process: Arnold Schwarzenegger. The last action hero, of course, was elected governor in the state’s 2003 recall election.
Schwarzenegger says the current governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, is doing something “very smart” in that he has responded to the recall by getting out of Sacramento.

“He is traveling around the state, is being seen everywhere, is involved and engaged with the vaccine, is involved with education,” Schwarzenegger told Politico on Wednesday. “I see him on the news all the time now. And you know, he’s handling this situation really well. That is already a victory.”

He sees both the 2003 recall and the current one in terms of “dissatisfaction” rather than political parties. Indeed, one of Newsom’s greatest advantages is that there is no challenger with name recognition, so inertia is on his side. A Public Policy Institute of California poll released Wednesday supports that idea.

And party affiliation won’t help much, Schwarzenegger says.

“The Republican party is, like I have said, dying at the box office. This is the crazy thing here, when they say it’s a ‘power grab’ of the Republicans. Let me tell you, the [California] Republicans couldn’t even get anyone elected. It’s ludicrous — the Republican Party doesn’t exist. These are the signatures of the ordinary folks that have signed on.”

So then, as Arnold notes, the lack of contenders, political party influence and the short runway to the likely November vote clears the path for an outsider, like Schwarzenegger himself, to enter the fray. And he has some suggestions.

“What would happen if George Clooney would run for the governorship? What if Brad Pitt would run? If Oprah Winfrey would run?” said the former governor. “We don’t know, so there will be an interesting answer to do a poll like that.”

Asked if he will endorse anyone, Schwarzenegger said no, but that does not mean he doesn’t have opinions.

“No, I don’t get involved in that at all. I try to be, in this case, the elder statesman,” said Arnold, “one that understands the phenomenon of a recall, that understands why people are dissatisfied, that understands what needs to be done and is not being done.”

So have any high-profile figures sought the Governator’s advice? If so, who?

“All I can tell you is that I’ve had many people come to me for advice over the period of these last few months,” Schwarzenegger told Politico. “I don’t talk about who, but I can tell you, a lot of people. And I can tell you also — that I will never say what we talked about.”

As for the names he mentions, Clooney, of course, has talked about politics, but mostly in terms of candidates he is supporting. Winfrey has endorsed the last three Democratic candidates for president, and actively campaigned for Presidents Biden and Obama.

Pitt has recently become more vocal about politics — quite literally. He used his 2020 Oscar-acceptance speech to address Senate Republicans’ impeachment tactics, and he helped voice an all-star World Series ad supporting Biden in the fall.

Nope I don't even want to dream about such a horrible idea.

Why would it be horrible?

Katie - George's political views have made him really unpopular with the lunatic fringe in this country. He already has a target on his back because of his politics. Can you imagine what those loonies would do if he ran for office? Not to mention the field day the media would have tromping all over his life - especially the conservative fringe and the Republicans.

He's much better off doing what he's doing now - and is probably having more of an effect than if he held office.

And I think that's what he's said, Lizzy.

And this is interesting - not seen it before tho the guys in the studio don't seem

to have done a lot of research...........

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It's an interesting piece - and you're right. They didn't do their homework, did they? The man on the left seemed a bit better informed than the other two. They're Canadian aren't they? Maybe that's why. I guess they don't follow him as closely as we do.

I don’t know who these guys are but they didn’t do their homework as Lizzy said.  A bit unprofessional for the woman on the screen to have to google in real time about George’s charitable work.  

The Deadline article mentions George, Brad and Oprah as what ifs for getting into politics.  It has been become clear over the last few years that even celebrities can get more accomplished politically outside of politics than from the inside.  Our political system is so messed up right now.  It will take years to right it.  George is doing some terrific humanitarian work without the strings attached from being a politician.

Well, this is Entertainment Tonight and I think the 'don't have a clue' attitude is

deliberate because they need to appeal to what the research tells them about

their 'core audience' in order to keep their audience figures up for their

advertisers.

Said a cynic.....