The following is an excerpt taken from an interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger with The Red Bulletin magazine. The January issue of The Red Bulletin will be available from Monday 8th January, 2018.

Arnold Schwarzenegger said:

Getting into politics was not an original dream of mine. I have done much more than I wanted.

When my dreams of getting rich, of becoming a bodybuilding champion and a movie star, were fulfilled, one thing led to the next.

I always wanted to learn. When I went into bodybuilding, I learnt everything about anatomy and muscles.

I was serious when I studied acting. And later I would discover that Sacramento was the greatest classroom ever.

I would sit in my office and every day I’d have meetings with experts, authorities in law enforcement or education or national health care. So I learnt and learnt and learnt. That’s why I got involved with the environment.

One scientist after another would come into my office and tell me about the dangers of global warming, about the economic aspect, about how many people die from pollution and how many children get asthma, and what the dependence on certain energies means for national security. I listened to the experts.

Not everyone listens. Regarding President Trump, the only thing I can say is: too bad I don’t have the chance to run because I wasn’t born in America. I think I could have won.

But now my interest is to be as supportive as possible to the President. Still, if he does things that are contrary to what we need to do, I will be the first one to speak out, especially when it comes to things I’m passionate about – like when he (Trump) cuts $1.2billion [£900billion] from after-school programmes, or wants to leave the Paris Accord.

Regarding the environment, I just wish Trump would copy me. He wouldn’t even have to thank me.

My environmental laws for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in California took effect in 2012. Critics say that if we go green and pass environmental laws, people will lose jobs.

It’s all lies. Today, California is responsible for one quarter of the US gross domestic product, even though we only represent 12 per cent of the population.

California is the perfect example of how we can achieve economic growth and also protect the environment. We have shown the way.

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