When most people hear Arnold Schwarzenegger’s name, they think of action movies, bodybuilding, or maybe his time as California’s governor. But this week, Schwarzenegger made headlines for something very different — siding with President Donald Trump and calling out California’s current governor, Gavin Newsom, over a controversial redistricting plan. That’s right: the former Republican governor, who’s no fan of Trump, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him on a major political issue. And what Schwarzenegger said sounded like something straight out of Ronald Reagan’s playbook.
Let’s break it down.
The issue at the heart of the debate is redistricting — the way states draw lines for congressional districts. These lines decide which voters are in which districts, and they can make a big difference in who wins elections. If a party draws the lines to help themselves unfairly, that’s called gerrymandering.
Earlier this year, Texas, a Republican-led state, announced a plan to redraw its congressional districts. That sparked outrage from Democrats, who accused Texas of gerrymandering to gain more Republican seats in the House of Representatives. But here’s the twist: while Democrats were pointing fingers at Texas, California was quietly making moves of its own.
Governor Gavin Newsom said he wanted to let voters decide whether California should keep using an independent redistricting commission. This commission was created years ago to stop politicians from drawing unfair maps. But now, Newsom wants to change that — putting redistricting power back on the ballot in something called Proposition 50. If voters agree, it could open the door for the state legislature — heavily controlled by Democrats — to take over the process.
Newsom claims this change is only “temporary,” and that the independent commission would return in 2030. But Schwarzenegger isn’t buying it.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Schwarzenegger called that idea a “total fantasy.”
“When they say this is temporary, there is no such thing,” he said. “The longest programs are government programs that are temporary.”
He warned that in 2030, politicians will find new excuses to keep control of the process, pointing to other states like Texas or Florida where gerrymandering still exists. In other words, once the government takes this power, it won’t give it back.
Schwarzenegger even sounded a lot like Reagan when he said this. Reagan once joked, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.” Schwarzenegger echoed that same distrust of government promises.
This puts Schwarzenegger in rare agreement with Trump, who has long warned about election manipulation in blue states. And Schwarzenegger didn’t stop at California. He pointed out that in states like New Mexico and Massachusetts, a huge chunk of voters backed Trump in the 2024 election — over 45 percent in New Mexico and over 36 percent in Massachusetts — yet both states have zero Republican members of Congress. That’s a clear sign, he argued, of extreme gerrymandering.
Tapper tried to suggest that Republicans started the problem, but Schwarzenegger wasn’t having it.
“No, Jake,” he replied. “There has been gerrymandering going on for 200 years.”
That’s the key point: both parties have played this game. But right now, Democrats are doing it in deep blue states while crying foul when red states act. Schwarzenegger’s message? Don’t pretend one side is innocent.
Newsom, for his part, brushed off all criticism with a smug response: “Spare me the moral high ground.”
So where does that leave us?
It leaves us with a big question: Can voters in California trust that the government will give up new power once it grabs it? History says no. And Schwarzenegger knows that. That’s why, even though he’s no MAGA supporter, he stood up and said what many conservatives have been saying for years: the system is rigged, and it’s time to stop pretending otherwise.
Whether this changes California’s course remains to be seen. But one thing’s clear: when Arnold Schwarzenegger, of all people, sounds like Ronald Reagan and backs Donald Trump’s position, something big is happening.
And voters should pay attention.