Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ripped into Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting proposal, calling it nothing more than a “fantasy” scheme to permanently entrench Democrat control under the guise of “temporary reform.”
During a Sunday interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union, the RINO ‘Screw Your Freedom’ former governor blasted his home state’s effort to dismantle California’s independent redistricting commission, warning that Democrats were setting a dangerous precedent.
Schwarzenegger said the new Proposition 50, championed by Newsom and his Democrat allies, would “undo decades of reform” meant to prevent political manipulation of voting districts.
The former governor accused both parties of trying to “outcheat each other,” but he saved his harshest criticism for Newsom’s hypocrisy.
Schwarzenegger added that while California Democrats fixate on gerrymandering, they ignore the real crises plaguing the state — homelessness, unaffordable housing, and the nation’s highest energy costs.
Jake Tapper:
A CBS poll this week found that 62% of likely California voters support this ballot measure that you oppose. Why do you think you’re right and they’re wrong? And what more are you going to do between now and Election Day to try to stop this from passing?Arnold Schwarzenegger:
Well, I’m not really the spokesperson for the anti–Proposition 50 campaign. I just want to defend the work that I have done, because we worked so hard to get the independent redistricting commission in California. California was in the leadership on that issue. Then we went around the country, promoted it around the country, and actually convinced about 30% of districts to have an independent commission.Now, all of a sudden, they’re undoing all of that. 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. Then all of a sudden, California says, “Well, then we have to do something terribly wrong.” And now other states are jumping in.
This is spreading like wildfire all over the country. It saddens me to see that we’re going in the opposite direction rather than having an independent commission draw the district lines.
Jake, I have to tell you, when you think about this — trying to out-cheat each other rather than outperform each other — it’s all between Democrats and Republicans. The ones that are getting left behind are the people.
[…]
Jake Tapper:
Democratic Governor Newsom was asked this week about your efforts to lobby against the measure… They think Republicans are blowing up all norms and standards for behavior, and they feel, therefore, they have to take extraordinary action in response. Are their concerns invalid, do you think?Arnold Schwarzenegger:
Well, first of all, let me just say this is important. This is not Governor Newsom against me or me against Governor Newsom. We are friends, and we get along. He came to me and told me about this situation. We’ve been working on this without attacking each other — that’s number one.Number two, I think when they say this is temporary, there is no such thing. I mean, the longest programs are government programs that are “temporary.” Just remember that — if it is a tax program or if it is a redistricting program — anything that is temporary with government is permanent.
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 the gerrymandering.” That’s what’s going to happen. They will find an excuse.
Therefore, I don’t think it is temporary. That’s total fantasy. The second thing is that you cannot cheat your way out of it. What the Democrats should do is outperform Trump.
Arnold Schwarzenegger:
To me, it’s all about competition — competition creates performance. What they’re doing with the redistricting commission is trying to draw 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.That is really the problem here. I understand that Democrats and Republicans have to fight about this, but the ones who are not really getting anything out of this are the people of America.
If you really want to fight for democracy, why would you go and destroy the Constitution in California — tear it up and redo the whole thing? To me, it just doesn’t make any sense at all.
WATCH:
Arnold Schwarzenegger on California Gov. Gavin Newsom claiming the redistricting in his state will be temporary: “I think when they say this is temporary, there is no such thing… Anything that is temporary with government is permanent… They will find an excuse, so therefore I… pic.twitter.com/YAziQzW0TR
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) October 26, 2025
Schwarzenegger also clapped back at CNN’s Jake Tapper and called out “extreme gerrymandering” in blue states, like Massachusetts and New Mexico, where he noted that Republicans receive nearly half the vote but hold zero congressional seats.
Jake Tapper:
As you acknowledged, this all started because of redistricting in Texas, and this was Trump pushing Republican-controlled states to throw out their current congressional maps so as to cook the books — to make it less likely for Democrats to retake control of the House during the next midterms. Is it fair to argue that — do you believe the Republican Party started this?Arnold Schwarzenegger:
No, Jake. There has been gerrymandering going on for 200 years. There’s such extreme gerrymandering that in a state like Massachusetts, 40% of the people voted for Trump — and the Republican Party has zero representatives sent to the House. Think about that.In New Mexico, if 45% of the people voted for Trump and vote Republican — zero representatives from the Republican Party. There’s crazy gerrymandering going on all over the country.
We wanted to try to stop it in California, and we did. Then we went around the country. I think this whole thing about finger-pointing — “They did it, so therefore we should do it” — that’s not the way to go.
One party should outperform the other party. It should be about performance. When it comes to midterm elections, as you know, the party that is not in the White House usually wins by 20, 25, 30 seats. So what does five seats matter in the first place in Texas? It’s crazy. You should outperform them — that’s where the action is.
WATCH:
NEW: Arnold Schwarzenegger claps back at CNN’s Jake Tapper, calls out “extreme gerrymandering” in blue states.
Tapper: “Do you believe that the Republican Party is starting this?”
Schwarzenegger: “No, Jake. There has been gerrymandering going on for 200 years.”
“There is such… pic.twitter.com/ovxGJ6ll8p
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 26, 2025