Years before rapper Kanye West announced his candidacy for President, America had another entertainment star entering the film industry: Arnold Schwarzenegger. Having won a resounding victory over other candidates, problems in management and administration only began to emerge when “The Terminator” gradually sank deeper into the political arena.

“Governor of Destruction”

That title was suddenly picked up by the American press when Arnold Schwarzenegger said he wanted to run for Governor of California. 

Surely when this actor uttered those words, even he somewhat doubted his own success. If you look at Schwarzenegger’s background, few people think he will one day become a politician.

Originally born in Austria, Schwarzenegger came to America to start a career in the late 60s with a reputation as a weightlifter and bodybuilder. 

His beautiful body helped him dream of entering the film industry, but things were not easy in the first days.

 As an amateur, Schwarzenegger had to accept portraying himself as a supporting actor, and he even acted in high school movies to attract attention.

Success only came to Schwarzenegger when he turned 40. The role of “Terminator” in the movie of the same name helped him earn a huge salary and a resounding reputation around the world.

 Schwarzenegger’s name is closely associated with that film, and he also played the role of “Terminator” until June 2003. 

That’s when part 3 of this series comes out. Two months later, Schwarzenegger suddenly announced that he wanted to be a politician.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was easily elected Governor thanks to his popularity.

The way “Terminator” steps onto the political stage also does not follow any pattern. On August 6, 2003, he participated in a reality TV show and shocked all audiences with his words. 

“I will replace incumbent Governor Gray Davis by putting my name on the election list, and I will win.

My motto is to do my job well, otherwise I will definitely be eliminated. That is when someone else looks in and says “Bye kid”.

Those who have watched the third part “Terminator” cannot forget “Goodbye kid”, the catchphrase that Schwarzenegger often says every time he defeats an opponent. 

Therefore, from a place of speechless surprise, the entire auditorium immediately applauded enthusiastically to support him as Governor of the state. 

They haven’t thought much about what this movie star will do in his new position, but just imagine that the prospect of him sitting as Governor will be very interesting.

A campaign to boycott Schwarzenegger’s crazy decision was immediately directed at him by other political opponents. 

However, “The Terminator” had anticipated that. “They will definitely do that to discredit me,” he shared. “In reality, they’re just jealous.

I’m famous, handsome, and loved by women, so they have to find every way to bring me down by saying I have no experience in politics. Of course I don’t.” I can’t be as good at tricks as them.”

After 2 months from announcing his candidacy to voting day, Schwarzenegger hardly attended a public debate like other politicians do. If normal people have to constantly campaign to let the public know them and vote, “The Terminator” doesn’t need that. 

The reputation of a movie star with dozens of popular television series is enough for everyone to know him. In October 2003, Schwarzenegger won a unique election in the state of California.

The promise did not come true

During his election campaign as Governor of California, of course Schwarzenegger could not claim that he would turn the state with the largest population in the United States into an expanded Hollywood. 

With a strong team of Republican advisors and experts, “The Terminator” is committed to rebuilding the administrative apparatus, creating more jobs for people, improving public health services, and at the same time improve environmental quality. 

From a person with no experience in politics, Schwarzenegger became more and more like a politician during his time in office, and that caused him to gradually destroy his own image.

“Terminator” can easily attract and please voters, but cannot convince those under him to do what he wants. They gave countless reasons to discourage Schwarzenegger in his new position. 

He is not a model politician, so all proposals are dismissed in the blink of an eye. 

There are those who openly dislike him and even say that Schwarzenegger should return to acting, because that is truly his expertise. 

Some conservative members of the Republican Party even said they would not follow Schwarzenegger because his policies were similar to those of the Democratic Party.

In 2006, Schwarzenegger continued to run for a second term and won again. He is still admired and supported by the public, but things in management are becoming more and more difficult behind the scenes. 

The global economic and financial crisis that began in late 2007 meant that Schwarzenegger’s promises to voters never came true. 

The rising unemployment rate caused him to be blamed for lax management and not doing his job properly.

American media is also partly to blame for making politician Schwarzenegger’s image worse. In 2010, he was included in the list of the 10 worst governors in America because all reforms failed.

 Declaring that he refused to receive a salary (about 175 thousand USD per year) did not make “The Terminator” as popular as before. 

The day he left office in early 2011, his voter support dropped to only 23%. Almost no Governor has had such a catastrophic decline in credibility.

When first elected, Schwarzenegger confidently declared that he still dreamed of becoming President, but could not because the US Constitution does not allow people born outside the US to run for office. 

However, after 8 years in the Governor’s chair, “The Terminator” must have felt that that scenario was like a dream that would never come true. 

He returned to acting, continuing to appear in a number of action movies with the image of a muscular hero like before. He doesn’t look like a former politician at all.

Lessons for those who like to encroach

The story of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s failure will make many celebrities consider more before deciding whether to enter politics or not. 

For people like them, attracting voters’ votes is much easier than for a model politician. 

They do not need to run loudly and publicly, because a post on social networks can create a much greater effect. However, the problem only began to become apparent when they started working.

Politicians are successful because they have a strong team of advisors, experts, and assistants working with them for many years. 

The success they have achieved is the result of a team that has worked well together before. They understand each other’s personalities and people, thereby helping work run more smoothly.

 That is not possible with a person like Schwarzenegger, because he only gathered these people under his command after being elected. Therefore, stars like “The Terminator” can win against other candidates, but cannot do their job well.

With a crew like that, it’s not too surprising that the legacy Schwarzenegger left behind for California is a mess. This state has not gotten any better in the eight years he took over.

 The middle and working classes say their lives have hardly improved, and are even more difficult than before.

 Business people are also hesitant to move to California to do business, because this place falls near the bottom of the list of states that are convenient for investment. The rampant taxes and fees also gave “The Terminator” a reputation for incompetence.

Schwarzenegger never said he regretted running for Governor of California, but surely the voters who voted for him would think again if they could go back in time to August 2003. 

Obviously, the prospect of a movie star becoming a politician is extremely interesting, but the reality is far different from what everyone imagined. “The Terminator” is just a victim in his own dream.