Though the former governor of California can’t legally run for the United States’ highest office — the position requires one to be a natural-born citizen, and Arnold Schwarzenegger hails from Austria — he said in an interview with BBC that he thinks he’d be a good fit.
“I feel like I would make a great president,” he said, adding that “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. So the only thing that I can’t do, which is run for president, I’m not going to complain about that,” he continued, going on to admit that it would be “a little bit selfish if I go out and try to change the law.”
However, the “Terminator” and “Conan the Barbarian” star — who is putting out a new self-help book — did have some thoughts on the upcoming 2024 election, which could potentially be another showdown between current President Joe Biden and former head of state Donald Trump. Besides both Biden and Trump having already served presidential terms, Schwarzenegger pointed out that they’re perhaps too old for the job.
“I just hope that America finds some really young blood,” Schwarzenegger told the BBC. “Because to me, it is a little bit odd that we are having a battle between people today in the late 70s and early 80s, rather than people in the 40s and 50s or maybe even younger and have them have a chance at this great, great job.”
Schwarzenegger’s new book, “Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life,” is available now.–variety.com