It’s Arnold Schwarzenegger versus President Donald Trump, yet again. The two have battled back and forth in the media over the past year, and now Schwarzenegger has enlisted the aid of French President Emmanuel Macron.
One of the earliest moments in the feud between the two was when Schwarzenegger, former governor of California and a Republican since he arrived in the United States and was impressed by one of Richard Nixon’s speeches, mentioned how would not be voting for a Republican candidate in the 2016 Presidential Election. This came shortly after the release of the infamous recording of Trump’s conversation with “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush, when Trump made several offensive comments about women.
Trump, in his usual fashion, has looked to strike back at Schwarzenegger at every opportunity. Since Schwarzenegger took over as host of “Celebrity Apprentice” for Trump, the President and real estate mogul has frequently bashed Schwarzenegger for the show’s falling ratings. Schwarzenegger fired back by saying that since ratings are so important to Trump, they should switch places, with Trump returning to his show and Schwarzenegger running the country.
In March, Schwarzenegger decided to leave the show. He says that he enjoyed the experience, but Trump’s shadow over the show resulted in many people not wanting to be involved and turned off quite a few viewers. One key factor was that Trump is still an executive producer on the show, meaning he still made money from it. Trump claims that Schwarzenegger was fired because of the poor ratings, although Trump himself wasn’t the one to fire him.
This verbal sparring has taken place on Trump’s preferred battleground – Twitter. Schwarzenegger’s latest criticisms of the Commander in Chief have been about Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from 2015 Paris climate agreement, and he certainly isn’t the only one to be upset with the President over that.
First, Schwarzenegger posted a video message on Twitter that was almost three minutes long. In the video, he called Trump derelict in his duties but also mentioned that one man can’t erase the progress made in protecting the environment or stop the movement towards clean energy.
On June 23, 2017, Schwarzenegger published a tweet stating how honored he was to meet French President Macron, calling him a great leader. Accompanying the tweet was a 10-second video clip, and at the end of the clip, Macron says “we can make the planet great again,” an obvious play on Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again.”
Schwarzenegger and Macron haven’t given any specific details besides saying that they’re talking about environmental issues. It makes sense that the two of them would decide to work together. Macron is one of the most moderate political leaders in the world, and is known for advocating radical centrism. Although Schwarzenegger is a Republican, he has also gravitated towards a moderate approach for his entire political career, especially compared to many of the Republican leaders in the United States, who lean very far right. Part of Schwarzenegger’s political philosophy no doubt comes from his previous marriage to Maria Schuyver, a member of the Kennedy family.
Macron criticized Trump’s withdrawal decision shortly after it happened, and said that he feels it’s a mistake for the United States and the entire world. He also said that anyone in the United States who was disappointed in the decision can consider France a second home. Considering their political philosophies and their willingness to take on Trump, Macron and Schwarzenegger will certainly make a great team.