Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate, giving the Democratic candidate another prominent Republican endorsement in the final days of the 2024 campaign.

Schwarzenegger characterized his choice as a vote against Trump rather than a vote for Harris. For Trump’s denial of the 2020 election results, for slandering America as the world’s garbage dump, for labeling his political opponents as “enemies from within,” and for sidelining Trump’s presidential campaign. It was his penchant for tax breaks for the wealthy and broader insults and divisive language that led his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. .

“We need to close the door on this chapter of American history, but we know former President Trump will not do it. They will find a way, and we the people will only get more angry,” Schwarzenegger wrote in a lengthy supportive post about X.

Schwarzenegger’s post continued: “That alone is reason enough for me to share my vote with you.” “I want to move forward as a country, and I think the only way to do that is to work with Mr. Harris and Mr. Walz, even though we have a lot of disagreements with their platform. ”

Harris has been pushing prominent Republicans to turn their backs on Trump, and their bipartisan reasons for supporting her resonate with undecided Republicans and independent voters. I look forward to calling you.

The Harris campaign, which has made many of the same points as Schwarzenegger, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chan said Schwarzenegger “is thinking too highly of himself if he actually believes his support matters.” He hasn’t had a relationship in 15 years. ”

Schwarzenegger has some things in common with both candidates.

Like Harris, he is from California and has worked with him in the past. For example, when Harris, as San Francisco district attorney, sponsored a bill that would increase penalties for adults who solicit sex from minors, then-governor Schwarzenegger signed it into law. .

Like Trump, Schwarzenegger is a celebrity turned political power broker. Before his stint as governor of California, the Austrian native was, and perhaps still is, best known for his role in the Terminator film series and his long career as a bodybuilder.

Schwarzenegger prefaced his support post by saying: I’m not shy about sharing my opinions, but I hate politics and don’t trust most politicians. ”

But he said his time as governor made him realize people might want to hear from him.

“I don’t like either political party right now,” he said. He said Republicans are “forgetting the beauty of free markets, increasing the deficit and rejecting the election results.” “I’m worried that Democrats are doing a poor job of addressing the deficit and that their local policies are hurting cities by increasing crime,” he said.

“It’s probably no surprise that I hate politics more than ever, but any normal person who isn’t into this crap would probably understand that.” I want to take it off,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “But we can’t do that, because it’s just so un-American to reject the election results. I’ve talked to people all over the world who still believe that America is this shining city on a hill and that we still call it America. For people like me who know [a] The trash cans of the world are so unpatriotic that I’m furious. ”

Schwarzenegger seemed to be referring to Trump. Comments on the campaign trajectory The US is a “garbage dump”. We are like a trash can to the world. ”

It may not be a coincidence that he highlighted Trump’s remarks. This incident comes at a time when President Biden, and by extension Harris, have come under fire for comments that criticized a speaker at a recent Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash.” It happened to. It seemed like he was mocking Trump supporters. Along the way, it is treated as “garbage”.

“They are a good, decent, honorable people,” Biden said of the Puerto Rican community. “The only trash floating around out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and un-American. It’s totally against everything we’ve done. It is contrary to.”

Republicans compared the remark to Hillary Clinton’s famous gaffe during the 2016 campaign, when she called Trump supporters “deplorables,” highlighting Democrats’ disdain for average Americans. I took it at face value as further evidence. The White House quickly sought to dispel the criticism, with a spokesperson saying Biden referred to his “hateful remarks at the Madison Square Garden rally as trash.”

They also shared another recording suggesting the quote was from a “supporter” rather than a “supporter,” saying, “The only garbage floating around there is from his supporters– “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable.” He directly criticized one supporter in particular, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, for his comments about Puerto Rico.

Asked about Biden’s remarks, Harris said Biden had clarified his remarks. distanced From them.

“Listen, first of all, I think he clarified his comments, but let me be clear: I strongly oppose criticizing people based on who they vote for. ” she said.

Schwarzenegger said Wednesday he voiced his support. “Because I think there are a lot of people who feel the same way I do. You don’t recognize our country. And you’re right to be furious.”