Arnold Schwarzenegger is blasting California’s redistricting effort, saying Democratic leaders shouldn’t “become Trump” in order to push back against the president.
“Today they want to dismantle this independent commission. They want to get rid of it under the auspices of ‘we have to fight Trump,'” Schwarzenegger, California’s former Republican governor, said Monday during a wide-ranging discussion at the University of Southern California (USC).
“Doesn’t make any sense to me that because we have to fight Trump to become Trump,” the “Terminator” star said.
“I mean, two bad behaviors don’t make a right behavior. Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Schwarzenegger told USC’s interim president, Beong-Soo Kim.
The Golden State’s Democratic-controlled Legislature formally approved a redistricting plan last month that, if approved by California voters in a November special election ballot, could give Democrats five additional House seats. The effort, known as Proposition 50, came in response to a similar GOP-led mid-decade push for more seats in Texas.
“It is important for you to vote ‘no’ on Proposition 50,” Schwarzenegger, 78, said.
“And I hate to get political here, but this is not political. This is more about democracy,” he said.
“The map that they’ve drawn, that they’re going to put in front of the public, was drawn, again, by the politicians,” Schwarzenegger said.
The bodybuilder-turned action movie star-turned governor has long advocated against partisan redistricting, saying California voters need to “terminate gerrymandering.”
As governor, he championed the state’s independent redistricting commission that was approved by voters in 2008. The latest redistricting effort by Democratic state legislators would temporarily bypass the commission.
“They are trying to fight for democracy by getting rid of the democratic principles of California,” Schwarzenegger, a critic of Trump who endorsed then-Vice President Harris in last year’s White House race, said of past redistricting pushes.
“So it is insane to let that happen,” he said.
“You have to fight for democracy and for everyone having their voice, because there are some crazies out there, it’s that simple,” he said.
“There was no transparency here, the way they drew the maps. That is the most important thing in democracy is transparency,” Schwarzenegger continued.
“So just remember that if you vote ‘yes’ on that, you’re going backwards,” he said of Proposition 50.
“That’s what they want to do, is take us backwards. But we’re not going to go backwards.”
