Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California: the day his candidacy almost exploded in flight

On paper, it was the most incredible role of his career. On October 7, 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California in what was the epilogue of one of the most surreal elections in history. With a surprising combination of candor and mischief, the Austrian star looks back at this period of her life in the miniseries’ third episode. Arnoldavailable this Thursday on Netflix.

Before going into battle, the Terminator was a physical education advisor to George HW Bush in the 1990s, but if he marries journalist Maria Shriver, JFK’s niece, imagine that Ronald Reagan is pure fiction on a national level. Born in Austria, he cannot claim to ever make it to the White House. However, locally…

The hypothesis of a candidacy for governor of California germinates in the mind of Schwarzi in late 2022, who is consulting with producer friends for support. Public finances in the worst shape, the state is going through one of the worst crises in its history, which will only lead to the procedure for the dismissal of the incumbent, Democrat Gray Davis. In a referendum, voters will be asked to decide on its content and name… as well as the identity of its eventual successor.

“The same agents, managers, and studio executives who turned me down in the 1970s, saying I would never succeed as an actor, all told me I was crazy.“, recalls Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was earning over $20 million per film at the time.But me, the more people tell me that I can’t or that something is impossible, the more I care!“.

Keeping up the intrigue, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy on August 6 on the set of Jay Leno’s talk show. “I was surprised! Why would the world’s greatest movie star do this?“, – says today’s presenter.I was stunned and shocked“, admits Linda Hamilton, his Terminator co-star.Who would have thought that all this time he was preparing for his biggest role?” adds director James Cameron.

At the time, the news had the effect of a bombshell. She made headlines around the world, and the star played on velvet all summer long. Faced with rivals, he bets on his incredible popularity and plays the intimacy card, multiplying his embraces with voters on the advice of Maria Shriver, who, after trying to dissuade him from participating in the elections, becomes his best adviser.

A brilliant communicator, Arnold Schwarzenegger went so far as to hire comedians to write him jokes to make fun of his rivals during debates. Wealthy independent candidate Arian Huffington proposes going after big corporations that don’t pay taxes? “The biggest tax loophole in this state is your income tax.he objects.It’s so wide I could fit my Hummer through it!“.

Elections are approaching in the fall, and Schwartzi leads the polls. Everyone sees how he has already settled in Sacramento, when on the morning of October 2 Los Angeles Times publishes the murderous testimony of half a dozen women. Some accuse the star of touching their breasts in obscene sexual statements. One of them explains that he tried to take off her swimsuit in the elevator: “Did he rape me? No. Did he humiliate me? Yes.”

In an interview 30 years later, reporter Carla Hall explains that when the actor’s candidacy was announced, the daily newspaper teams looked like “all the stories we’ve heard about him over the years. Except that no one has ever researched it. We were 6 weeks old and we started looking for these women to get them to talk. And we found them through contacts in Hollywood.”

On the same day, the colossus speaks at the meeting. He begins by blaming his opponents for wanting to destroy him… before embarking on surreal guilt. “Many of these stories are false. But as I always say, there is no smoke without fire.“, he admits.Yes, I sometimes behaved badly. I made mistakes, I thought it was funny (…) To these people, I want to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry, he’s not the person I aspire to be..”

At the time, this fault of mine was a disaster. “We got so much advice that we had to put more reporters on the case!“, – recalls Carla Hall. In the following days, the revelations multiplied, resulting in the number of accusers reaching 15. During these days, the actor tensed up. And even made a 180-degree turn.”It’s largely made up“, he explains to a reporter from his campaign bus.”I never pawed anyone. Raise their tops to grope them? It’s not me !“.

At the headquarters of the candidate, care is maximum … And yet. To everyone’s surprise, public opinion proved immune to the scandal. And even better: it is perceived as an attempt to destabilize an outsider who undermines the political game. “We were accused of postponing the articles to remove them 5 days before the election“regrets Carla Hall.”But if it came out on October 2, it’s because that’s how long it took us to investigate!“

On October 7, Arnold Schwarzenegger will finally be elected under the banner of the Republicans with 48.6% of the vote against 31.5% for Democrat Cruz Bustamente. The first mandate with such highs as its policy in favor of limiting greenhouse gas emissions is welcomed by environmental organizations. And his refusal to legalize same-sex marriages or pardon those on death row are two embarrassing topics that the documentary doesn’t touch on.

After the second term, from 2007 to 2011, he completed his political career. A few months later, the Schwarzenegger couple announced their divorce, and in the process, the governor-turned-actor revealed that he was having a child with one of his housekeepers. On July 1, Maria Shriver filed for divorce after staying by his side during the storm. “It wasn’t right!“, he admits today about his actions towards women.”It was nonsense. Forget all the excuses, it was wrong.”