Former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is firing back at claims from current Democratic governor Gavin Newsom that the major recall campaign against him is driven by Republicans, saying it’s a movement fueled by ‘ordinary folks.’
A campaign to force a recall election for Gov. Newsom has garnered over 2.1 million signatures, surpassing the 1.5 million needed for force an election later this year instead of 2022.
Schwarzenegger, 73, knows the recall system well, the ‘Terminator’ star was elected governor of the Golden State after a recall election in 2003 ousted Democrat Gray Davis.
Newsom has claimed that the efforts have been driven by right wing extremists and has called it a ‘partisan Republican recall’.
But Schwarzenegger tells Politico that Newsom is playing the typical political blame game and that this recall effort is voters response to ‘dissatisfaction’ – similar to the feeling of ordinary residents that got him into the governors mansion in 2003.
‘The political parties will make it right away about them,’ he said.
‘The Republicans are going to claim the Democrats are terrible, and then the Democrats are going to come in and they say, ‘It’s a power grab,’ which of course I heard a million times in 2003.’
California Governor Gavin Newsom has claimed that the recall efforts have been driven by right-wing extremists
Schwarzenegger, 73, was elected governor of the Golden State after a recall election in 2003 ousted Democrat Gray Davis
‘People are dissatisfied. [The recall is] the people’s way of kind of letting off some steam, and then they decide: Do we want to follow through, or not follow through?’ Schwarzenegger said.
In a poll of 1,174 voters surveyed by the Public Policy Institute of California at least 56% of people said they do not support the recall and 40% supported it, according to the LA Times. The remaining voters were undecided.
Among the 1,174 likely voters surveyed by the Public Policy Institute of California, 56% said they oppose the recall and 40% support it, with the remaining undecided. More than three-quarters of likely voters said the worst of the pandemic is over.
The recall movement has mostly centered around Newsom’s handling of the pandemic.
Critics have panned Newsom’s restrictive lockdown measures on schools and businesses during the pandemic.
He was also publicly slammed after he was seen dining at luxurious French Laundry restaurant in November 2020, where he and a party of 10 or more people were seen without face masks and none were practising social distancing.
At the time, the state had a ban on indoor dining.
Newsom faced scrutiny from both sides when was photographed attending a dinner party at the swanky French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, California
Newsom was photographed attending a dinner party at the French Laundry restaurant in November 2020 in the midst of a state-wide lockdown
The California governor took to Twitter to dub the the effort to force a recall vote a ‘partisan Republican recall’
Additionally, organizers of the movement cite the growing homelessness crisis in the state and high cost of living as other reasons behind the recall effort.
Newsom himself has dubbed the effort a ‘partisan, Republican recall’ backed by right wing extremist groups like QAnon and the Proud Boys.
‘The other proponents, the top 10 proponents, the people that are behind this are members of the Three Percenters, the right wing militia group; the Proud Boys [who] supported the insurrection, [who] are folks who quite literally, enthusiastically support QAnon conspiracies. And so that’s the origin.’ he told the host of The View in March.
Schwarzenegger rejects the idea that the recall effort is led by Republicans, telling Politico that the Republican party in California is not is any position to lead such a movement.
‘This is the crazy thing here, when they say it’s a ‘power grab’ of the Republicans. Let me tell you, the [California] Republicans couldn’t even get anyone elected. It’s ludicrous – the Republican Party doesn’t exist. These are the signatures of the ordinary folks that have signed on,’ he said.
