Arnold Schwarzenegger crusades against Newsom’s Democratic gerrymandering

WASHINGTON, DC: Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger slammed current California Governor Gavin Newsom’s temporary redistricting proposal, warning it could pave the way for permanent Democratic gerrymandering.

Schwarzenegger’s critique comes in response to Proposition 50, which would allow a temporary map change aimed at countering Republican gerrymandering in states like Texas, Ohio, and Florida.

Arnold Schwarzenegger warns about Gavin Newsom’s Democratic gerrymandering

Arnold Schwarzenegger dismissed Gavin Newsom’s claim that the state’s proposed redistricting plan is temporary.

“I think when he — when they say this is temporary, there is no such thing,” Schwarzenegger told CNN’s Jake Tapper on 'State of the Union’. “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 made the remarks in response to a clip of Newsom promoting his Proposition 50 legislation, which would reshape congressional districts.

Voting opened last week on the measure, which could add up to five Democrat-held seats in Congress and potentially counteract President Donald Trump’s efforts in Texas and other states to boost Republican influence ahead of the 2026 election. Notably, Former President Barack Obama endorsed Proposition 50 earlier this week.

The 'Commando' star predicted that by 2032, when the independent redistricting commission is set to review maps, officials will justify continuing partisan gerrymandering in states like Texas, Ohio, and Florida.

“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,'" Schwarzenegger said. 

"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,” he warned. 

Newsom has responded to opponents of Proposition 50, saying, “Spare me the moral high ground.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger says Americans are getting cheated amid gerrymandering battle

The former governor also expressed, "There’s this war going on all over the United States. Who can out-cheat the other one? Texas started it. They did something terribly wrong. And then all of a sudden, California says, ‘Well, then we have to do something terribly wrong.’ And then now other states are jumping in."

Schwarzenegger argued that what Democrats needed to do was outperform Trump.

He said, "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," the actor highlighted. 

Schwarzenegger also opposed the redistricting efforts on social media, posting a photo of himself at the gym wearing a T-shirt that read, “F*** the politicians. Terminate gerrymandering.” He captioned the post saying, "Getting ready for the gerrymandering battle."