25 October 2023 , 08:17
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Arnold Schwarzenegger has claimed he would be a great US president in an interview in which he explained how much he loved living in America.
The bodybuilder turned Hollywood star and former governor of California waxed lyrical about his life in the US and said "I feel like I would make a great president".
In an interview with the BBC promoting his new book, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, the 76-year-old also said: "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."
The Kindergarten Cop can't run for president according to the US constitution, which stipulates candidates must have been a resident of the US for 14 years and be at least 35 years old. Schwarzenegger meets both of these requirements but falls short of the demand that presidents are natural-born citizens.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks in London this week (Getty Images for Fane)He added: "I mean ok there is the constitution... We need some immigration reform, absolutely, to change that. But it would be a little bit selfish if I go out and try to change the law."
Next year's election battle is likely to be a re-run of the 2020 election between incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Schwarzenegger, despite his age, said he would prefer it if the US found some "young blood" to vote for.
"I feel like I would make a great president,' Arnold Schwarzenegger said (Getty Images)"To me, it is a little bit odd that we are having a battle between people today in the late seventies and early eighties rather than people that in the forties and fifties or maybe even younger and have them have a chance at this great, great job," the California governor from 2003 to 2011 said.
Previously, Schwarzenegger said the Democrat incumbent in the Golden State, Governor Gavin Newsom, should run for president. "I think it’s a no-brainer," he told the Hollywood Reported.
The 'Governator' said: "Every governor from a big state wants to take that shot... I would run things differently [than Newsom], but I’m a Republican, so of course I would. I don’t criticise him for not doing it my way."
Schwarzenegger has suggested Governor Newsom should run for the White House (Love Sunday)Newsom, 56, has been widely cited as a favourite to run in case Biden pulls out amid concerns about his health and age in Democratic and public circles. In September, Newsom told NBC 'Meet the Press' it was time "to move past this notion that [Biden is] not going to run."
He added: "President Biden is going to run and I’m looking forward to him getting re-elected... I think there’s been so much wallowing in the last few months, and handwringing in this respect, but we’re gearing up for the campaign."
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