Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he is voting for Vice President Kamala Harris in a rare endorsement from the state's last Republican leader.
Schwarzenegger shared his endorsement on X on Wednesday, saying, "I’m not shy about sharing my views, but I hate politics and don’t trust most politicians." His comments were mostly directed toward his opposition to Trump rather than his support of Harris.
"It is probably not a surprise that I hate politics more than ever, which, if you are a normal person who isn’t addicted to this crap, you probably understand," he said. "I want to tune out. But I can’t."
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Schwarzenegger had not issued an endorsement in a presidential election since supporting Republican Sen. John McCain in 2008.
Although once a major figure in Republican politics, his support of Harris isn't a huge surprise. He has been very outspoken against former President Donald Trump. Schwarzenegger decried efforts by Trump to negate the results of the 2020 election, and has called him a "failed leader."
In his note on Wednesday, Schwarzenegger once again cited Trump's actions leading to the Jan. 6 insurrection as to why he would not support the former president.
"Rejecting the results of an election is as un-American as it gets," he wrote. "To someone like me who talks to people all over the world and still knows America is the shining city on a hill, calling America is a trash can for the world is so unpatriotic, it makes me furious.
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"And I will always be an American before I am a Republican. That’s why, this week, I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz."
Both Harris and Schwarzenegger have been prominent California politicians. While Schwarzenegger was governor, Harris was the district attorney of San Francisco. On the same day Schwarzenegger left office, Harris then became the attorney general of the state.
Although Schwarzenegger has been critical of President Joe Biden, in 2020, he said he would be helpful to the then-president-elect.
