Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken out on the ongoing ICE crisis in the US, after Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign has caused fury across the country
There’s no love lost between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Donald Trump. But it appears Arnie may agree, at least in part, with Trump’s views on immigration.
The US is in a period of unrest at the moment due to the President’s mass deportation campaign. There have been a number of protests, and there was significant anger in LA this month, with Trump sending in thousands of troops to try and calm it down.
The former reality star’s political moves have long been a point of controversy, and he’s even lost celebrity fans like Rod Stewart, who said he will no longer go to any more of his parties.
One person who never appeared to be a fan was Terminator legend Arnold. However his comments this week suggest that, to some extent, he agrees with Trump’s views on immigration.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s immigration comments
Austrian-born Arnold appeared on The View earlier this week and spoke of immigration. “When you come to America, you’re a guest and you have to behave like a guest,” he said.
When asked on his views on the ICE deportations, Arnold made it clear he thought people should “do things legal”.
He said: “Those people that are doing things illegal, and they’re the foreigners, they are not smart.” He went on: “You have a responsibility as an immigrant to give back to America, and to pay back America, and to go and do something for your community for no money whatsoever.”
It’s not the first time Arnold has addressed immigration, though.
The actor, who became a US citizen in 1983, said while promoting his Netflix show Fubar: “Politicians have the responsibility to create immigration reform, so we don’t have to have this c*** going on in the first place.
“This is the result of the Democrats and Republicans not being able to come together in this immigration reform. And so that’s what needs to be done so that you don’t have to go and start arresting people in the first place, so we know who is in this country and who is working here, who has the temporary working permit, who has the permanent working permit.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Donald Trump’s feud
Things turned frosty between the duo in 2017, when Arnold took over as the host of Celebrity Apprentice. Trump had been the host for seven seasons, seeing him work with the likes of Piers Morgan, Joan Rivers and Arsenio Hall.
Arnold’s first season came two years after the previous, which was also Trump’s final season as the host. It saw a dramatic drop in viewers, going from 7.6million on Trump’s final season, to 4.8m for Arnold’s.
At the time, Trump taunted Arnold on what was then Twitter, writing: “Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got ‘swamped’ (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. So much for being a movie star – and that was season one compared to season1 4. Now compare him to my season one.”
However Arnold took it on the chin and responded: “There’s nothing more important than the people’s work, @realDonaldTrump.”
He added: “I wish you the best of luck and I hope you’ll work for all of the American people as aggressively as you worked for your ratings.”
How did they get there?
The duo weren’t always at odds. In August 2004, when Arnold was a rising star in the Republican Party, Trump reportedly requested he switch from the Mandarin Oriental to a Trump hotel while visiting New York City.
Then in a 2007 episode of The Celebrity Apprentice, on which Arnold made an appearance, Trump described him as a “great friend”. The same year, Trump donated $10,000 to Arnold’s re-election campaign.
Fast-forward almost 10 years, and Trump announces his campaign for president, making some “derogatory” comments about Mexicans as he did. NBCUniversal dropped him from The Apprentice, but Trump said he wouldn’t have time to host the show, anyway. He did, however, remain as an executive producer when Arnold took over.
Arnold and Trump were seen sharing a hug at the Republican Presidential Debate a few months later, but Arnold confirmed he had not voted for Trump and declined to endorse him. In October 2016, he doubled down, saying he would not vote for Trump, and implored Republicans to “choose your country over your party”.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
