Full Arnold Schwarzenegger Interview from Meet the Press Transcript

Governor Schwarzenegger, welcome back to Meet the Press.

Thank you.

So you are one of the world's greatest bodybuilders, one of the most iconic actors. You have been governor of California and now you are writing this book Be Useful, which really aims to tell people the secret of your success. Your advice includes never think small and sell, sell, sell. (00:23) How would you describe the secret to your success?

Well, first of all, using those seven tools. And there is something that is in common that if you go from a bodybuilding championship to acting to governorship, if you use some of the basic rules to, number one, have a clear vision where you want to go, because then you chase something and then it makes it much more fun no matter how much the struggle is and how much the torture is, how many times you fail and you have to get up again. But you know what the purpose is, why you're doing that. And so that is, to me, I think the number one and most important thing is you have to know exactly what you're going after, what you're passionate about. (01:08) Number two, that you cannot really listen to the naysayers because every time you have a big, big dream, people will say, "It's never going to happen. Come on now. Why you?" When I wanted to come to America, they said, "It's impossible." When I talked about being a world champion in bodybuilding, they said, "It's impossible. It can't be done. You're an Austrian. You maybe could become a skiing champion, but not a bodybuilding champion. It's an American sport." And on and on and on. (01:33) And then when I wanted to get in the show business, they said, "Oh, you've an accent and you have this big body and you have a name that no one can pronounce. It's never going to happen." And when I ran for governor, they said, "Hey, you're entertainer. You're not a politician. Why are you doing it? It's never going to happen." So it's no, no, no, all the time. (01:50) And so I just felt that by not listening to those naysayers, it really helped me. And I used those naysayers as a kind of fire, putting a little bit of extra fuel on that fire to get me motivated and to really make me feel like, "Well, I'm going to show them. Okay, if they think that I cannot do it, I will show them that I can do it." So it gives me extra ... it gave me extra motivation. And I talk about that in the book that, not to get depressed over those kinds of things, but to kind of use it as a motivating force. (02:24) So this is the kind of things that I do in the book, I show people how to do it, how to become more successful. Because the reality is that so many people that are unhappy today. They're unhappy with their jobs. 70% of the people in America hate their jobs. They can't wait until they retire. So what kind of a life is that? (02:41) So I think we can do better than that, but they don't know how. So this is what the book is doing. It helps young kids, helps middle-aged people, it helps older people, it helps women, men, it helps anybody that wants to become more successful, be happy and more fulfilled with their lives.

And why was it important to you to write this book now?

I never really dreamt of being a motivational speaker and never, ever dreamt about writing a book about motivating people and stuff like that. It was the last thing in my mind. It was just that without a plan, it really caught on. I started doing speeches, commencement speeches, and people after that said, "This was unbelievable. The way you pumped up those students, the way you gave them the rules to success and all this, they really walked away with something that they can work with. That was great. Why don't you write a book about that?" And I said, "No, no, no. I don't want to write a book about it." (03:41) Anyway, one thing led to the next and now all of a sudden started doing speeches all over the world, motivational speeches and all this stuff. And so more and more people started coming to and say, "Do this as a book. Do it as a book. Write the principles down and the truths." And so that's why I did that. I felt like, "Okay, let me do that." And now here we are. I'm out there and I'm doing exactly what one of the chapters says, sell, sell, sell. Right? Because I always feel that you can have the best product in the world or you can have the best show in the world, the best commentator, the best journalist, but if the world doesn't know about it, you have nothing. So you got to really let people know that you're existing or that your product is existing. And that's what I'm doing right now, is I go around the world promoting this book and doing a lot of interviews and talk about motivation and about the idea of the tools and so on.

Governor, I think a lot of people would look at you, look at your life and say, you are cut from a very different cloth. You didn't have success in one field. You had success in three different fields, three different endeavors, everything you ever put your mind to. (04:49) What would you say to people who look at your book and say they feel intimidated to dream as big as you did?

Well, you got to go and dream big. There's nothing that stops you from going all the way. I mean, the sky is the limit. The key thing is that we have that clear vision and to go after that. And I've seen it firsthand. My dream was not to win Mr. Austria or Mr. Europe, but to win Mr. Universe, and not only to win Mr. Universe, but to become the greatest bodybuilder of all times. So this is a huge goal to erase history and to say, "I'm going to beat all of those guys that were there in the past. I'm going to be the greatest with the most perfectly developed physique." And then you just have to figure out how do you get there? How do you do that, right? I mean, the how-to is a very important factor. For that you need trainers, you need training partners and all of that stuff. (05:53) But the same was also in acting. Think about it, that when people said, "You want to get into acting," I said, "No. I want to be a movie star. I want to be the leading man." "This is impossible. With an accent like that? I mean, I barely can understand you." But I did it because I didn't see it as an obstacle. I saw it as a actual a big plus. (06:15) And sure enough, when they said, "Your body's too big." Well, when I did Conan the Barbarian, the director said, "If we wouldn't have had Schwarzenegger, we would've had to build one." Why? Because I was the only one that at that time that was muscular enough to play Conan the Barbarian, which was a character that Frank Frazetta drew, and it was a famous comic book character of sword and sorcery [inaudible 00:06:43]. So he felt that that body was extremely important. So there was a plus now of a sudden. And Jim Cameron, that directed Terminator said, "The reason why Terminator worked was because Schwarzenegger talked like a machine." So all of a sudden the German accent became a big plus.

And you realized your speech was an asset. Exactly what you're saying, that you could achieve that speaking what other people would perceive to be a machine.

Exactly. And then to me, when you analyze my career, you always see that I do it my way. I don't copy anyone else. So it's like in bodybuilding, I had created my own unique physique that made me become the greatest bodybuilder. In the show business I kept my accent, I kept my body, I kept my name and everything and did it my way, which was, I'm talking about this in the book, is I didn't climb the ladder. I created my own ladder and I climbed that. So this is what I did. (07:42) The same is with the governorship. I mean, here I come in as governor and I say, "Stop it guys. I don't see as a Republican, the Democrats as evil and as villains. I want to work with them." I said, "Let's all sit down together and let's figure out what we can solve together. What can we do together to serve the people of California, because I'm not coming from that Republican kind of being a party hack of some kind of." I said, "I want to be a public servant. I want to serve the people."

And I want to delve into your record shortly, but I want to read you a passage of your book because one of the things that I found so fascinating about this is that you give very practical advice, including how you should think about 24 hours of every day. You write: "Rest is for babies and relaxation is for retired people." (08:31) Why do you think it was so important for you to give this very blunt advice?

Well, because I feel like we have only one life and we have to go and live this life fully. It's not a dress rehearsal. It's the real thing. So let's go all out. (08:52) I just feel like when people say, "Are you going to retire?" I said, "Look, when I'm six feet under, then I can rest and retire and

... and do all of that stuff. I said, "As long as I'm above the grass, I want to fight. I want to be hungry, I want to struggle, I want to be useful." And to me now, this is very important to combine all of my careers together into one and to make this a better world. If it's motivating people to become more successful, if it is fighting for clean environment, to reduce fossil fuels, the use of fossil fuels, and to reduce pollution, which kills 7 million people, if it is to create a better healthcare, afterschool programs, better education for the kids. All those kind of issues are very important to me, and I just want to improve the world, make it a better place.

Well, let's talk about the state of our world right now. We all witnessed the horrific events that unfolded in Israel. What many people are calling Israel's 9/11. What was your reaction to seeing the attacks in Israel, Governor.

I think I was in shock as much as everyone else was. You look at those images on television and you say, "How can people do that?" Why would anyone be motivated to launch a such a barbaric attack on Israel, and unprovoked. It was not like there was anything going on, but Israel was kind of doing something to Hamas or to the Palestinians at that time, and it was just unprovoked attack. And it just blew my mind that something like this can happen out of nowhere, and so many people have to die. So many people have to suffer. So I just hope that smart people and wise people can get together and solve this issue. (10:51) Because, here's been going on for so many decades and centuries in history, there have been those battles and those fights in the Middle East, and somehow they don't resolve them. And I think it needs smart and wise people to come together that think not only what is best for them, but to think also what is best for the other side. Because that's what you have to do in a situation like that. You have to say, well, how do they feel? Why do they feel that way? And what can we do to help with that situation? What can they do to help with our situation to make us feel safe, and so on.

As a former governor, how would you assess the response by US leadership and Israeli leadership?

The response, I think everyone is working very hard to figure out how to solve this problem, and how to even find the bodies. I mean, they're still counting the bodies, they're still finding... At this music festival, they have almost 300 people that died right there. So I think that response was good. I think it was great that the president has responded and let Israel know that we are 100% behind them. And I feel that it's very important for us to be supportive of Israel and do everything that we can to defend and help them, to defend them and all of that stuff. But as I said, it is very important also at the same time that we not always go from one conflict to the next, but we start thinking about how does the other side feel and why is this continuing to go on like tha.t and can we solve that, for future generations?

And of course, this is all happening as the US Congress is in a state of paralysis after kicking out their own speaker of the house. So they couldn't respond to this crisis if they were asked to do so. And obviously divisions in this country are deeper than we have seen in quite some time. What do you think the state of our democracy is?

Well, I always felt, ever since I came to America and I started really getting into learning about the history of America and about democracy and the political system here and all of that, that democracy is very vulnerable. And that's why I always say to people, it's not a bystander sport. You get to participate, you got to vote. You got the study of who the candidates are, and you got to really get smart about the issues and stuff like that. (13:43) So I always encourage people, and I think that's why I have the USC Schwarzenegger Institute to educate kids, to really be out there and get with the program and to participate in democracy. And I also believe very strongly in the equal right to vote. Because I think that we have a problem, as we have seen in the last election, that so many people were not able to vote because the close to voting polls and they made it impossible for some people to vote in order to change the election outcome and stuff like that. And all of this is the wrong way to go. So we have to do everything we can to fight for this so that everyone can vote and the polling stations stay open often. So there's all kind of things. So democracy is in a vulnerable situation.

Because of the divisions in this country right now, what's the root of the vulnerability?

I think it's always been vulnerable. I mean, don't forget that when I came over to America in the sixties, President Kennedy was assassinated, Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Martin Luther King was assassinated. There was violence beyond belief at the Democratic Convention in Chicago where people were clubbed to dead and attacked and all of that stuff by the police, and there was the Vietnam War, there was wars going on. So I mean there was total madness, and there was Watergate right after that. So somehow how we came out of all that, because there was a leader that was sane and that showed great leadership, which was Ronald Reagan. (15:25) Not that because he was a Republican or because he was this or that or from California. It was just he was the right man to bring people together during this kind of big problem that the United States went through with the inflation rate high, the business went down, economy went down, the stock market went down, everything went down. Our image was horrible worldwide. And he brought it back. I think this is what we need. We just don't know yet who is this person that could do that.

You don't know who that leader is? You don't see that leader right now?

I couldn't tell because the Democrats are screaming that it has to be Biden and the Republicans are screaming, has to be Trump and all that stuff. Okay, let that kind of thing play out again, so we know once in all who the people really choose. That's perfectly fine with me. But we got to think beyond that, because we need a new generation of leaders that are willing to spend as much energy as possible or as much energy as it takes to bring both of the parties together. Because we as a nation are Democrats and Republicans and Independents, and when they all pray together and work together, that's what our ultimate strengths comes from. It's like a football team that only accepts Democrats or Republicans. You couldn't win like that. Football team has players that doesn't matter what party they belong to. They work together and they play together and then they try to win.

You write about the importance of working across your aisle, the aisle in your book and you write, quote, "I had to put Democrats resistance to my ideas to the side. My job was to find a way to work with Democrats to pass legislation that helped the citizens of California. That meant compromise." Governor, why do you think compromise has become a dirty word?

Because I think there's no one there that can lead and to make people understand that. I tell you an example, when I go to Washington and lobby for afterschool program money, because every administration always wants to take the money out of the budget, which is normal. So I go there to lobby. How do I lobby? I find six senators from the Democrats, six from the Republicans, asking if we can come together and talk about this

It's a very important issue that, when it comes up in the budget, that they fight for it. And I've gone there in 2001 to lobby there. In 2009, I've gone to the lobby because Obama took it out, the money. And so I went back there several times, different periods, to lobby for that money and to bring Democrats and Republicans together. There was never a time where the Democrats said, "I don't want to sit down with the Republicans," nor was there a time when the Republicans said, "I don't want to sit down with the Democrats," to sit down on the table and talk to them about the important issue of the afterschool programs, why this money is important, how 70% of the kids come from a family where both of the parents are working and there's no one home in the afternoon, that no matter what your philosophy is about their government taking over, and the babysitting and all this kind of stuff, forget about it. (18:52) This is an important issue. We got to work together on this. They all were willing to work together. It was 20 years ago, 10 years ago, and now, always were willing to work together. And they never said, "I don't want to work with this team," because I brought them together and I told them, "You both are important to save the money for those kids."

One of the extraordinary things that we are seeing, though, right now, it's not just about this lack of bipartisanship, it's about Republicans, at least in the House of Representatives, not being able to work together, this divide within the Republican Party. How concerned are you and do you think that Republicans should put their ideology aside and, as you say, work together?

It's not just Republicans. You have, in the Democratic Party, people that are way to the left and totally wacky. You can't blame them because that's the way they feel. That's the philosophy, but we have to recognize that there are now really people on the left in the Democratic Party and there are people that are way to the right in the Republican Party. And the danger of that is, when you get far apart, it's very hard to pull that rubber band closer to together without it snapping. (20:11) So this is why I always feel like that we got to get rid of gerrymandering that creates those extreme people in those parties. Gerrymandering, when you have independent redistricting commissions, like we have in California, you have much more center people. And therefore, in California, our approval rating of the legislators went from 16%, sometimes 20%, to almost 50% because of that independent redistricting commission, because people now, legislators, are much more a center. So we got to go and do that nationwide. There's maybe a third of all the districts that are now drawn with independent commissions, but we still have a long way to go.

Because of these divisions that you talk about in both parties, do you feel an increased pressure to speak out right now, to lend your voice to the conversation? You have obviously chosen specific moments in the wake of January 6th, for example, to speak out. Do you feel that pressure to speak out right now?

I don't feel the pressure. I just let people know from both sides that I'm always there to help. For instance, I had a very, very good environmental conversation with Republicans, with the help of the Speaker, and Kevin was there and brought all this together, all his people together. And then after that, they went to the White House, and they talked to the White House to the Democrats, and they told both of them, they said, "If you ever want to get together ..." because there's a sweet spot that we can find where Democrats could be very happy because we make an agreement to increase and to double the renewable energy, and the Republicans will be very happy because you give them double the nuclear energy. (22:13) So there's something in there for everybody, but it is very important, both of those. It's not like you're selling out. We need more nuclear power in America because it's clean energy, clean energy, and the renewable energy, solar, and wind, and the geothermal [inaudible 00:22:30], is also clean energy. So if we double the 20%, get to 40% in nuclear, and 20% to 40% in renewable, imagine, now we have 80% of clean energy, and that will make an impact in the world when we do something like that.

And I read that you hadn't heard much from the White House. Has that changed?

No, I haven't heard much from either side, but that doesn't mean that they're not talking, maybe, or they're moving forward. I don't know, but I just always let them know, if they need any help, I've been there for seven years and I've created the most strict environmental laws in the country that have become a model for the rest of the world. We can do it nationwide and it's easy to do. It's not a big ask to do that.

Given what you're saying, do you worry about Republican calls to continue with the idea of drill, baby, drill? We're hearing that from some of the candidates.

Well, they can drill. You have to drill. You can face reality, drilling is not a negative because I have one choice, and that is ... Two choices, actually. If one to drill here or the other one is to go and buy the oil from Saudi Arabia, or from Mexico, from Venezuela, or somewhere else. So at one point or the other, you have to recognize this is the oil that we need because we don't have yet the alternative, the electric cars, the hydrogen-fueled cars, and all those things. So we have to drill somewhere, I'd rather drill in America than to drill in Venezuela, or in Mexico, or in Saudi Arabia.

I want to get your take on the race for the White House, if I can. You've been very critical of former President Trump. Is there any candidate in that field who you feel like could bring the type of leadership that's needed right now?

Well, I don't think we give these people enough chance because it's all Trump, Trump, Trump, Biden, Biden, Biden. So these are the things that the press talks about.

Who do you think stands out?

Well, I think that Joe Manchin is one of them that I think stands out because he's a center guy. He comes from an [inaudible 00:24:38] state, but he's a Democrat. So he knows the challenges and all that, but he's one of the guys that I think is really a great force, but there's many others. We just have to give, in general, without endorsing anybody, I think we have to give people a chance to emerge. The political system is set up in such a way right now that Trump is taking the air out of everything and Biden is doing it on the other side. And so it comes down to both of them running, really, for president.

You have said you would run for president if you could. Do you think you would be a better president than any of the candidates running right now?

I think that I have the ability of bringing people together, I have the ability of talking about issues without villainizing the other side, because there's people that think differently than I do, but they're not evil. They're not terrible people. They're good people that mean well. So therefore, I would say we have to be able to bring people together and let everyone know they are very important to be part of the team for us to be successful.

Does it frustrate you that you can't run for the nation's highest office?

No, because I tell you, I have accomplished everything that I did because of America. So why would I be frustrated and angry about something, the one thing that I can't do? There's only one thing that I can't do in America, which is run for president. Why would I be upset about that? Yeah, I would love to run for president. I would love to have the opportunity to do that and to show America that we can come together and do the kind of things that Ronald Reagan did, but that's not the case. The case is, the reality is that I can be there to be helpful, to help other people. That is, to me, the most important thing. Like I said in the book, and my book is called Be Useful, I want to be useful to bring Democrats and Republicans together and solve the problems together.

I have seen you say that you have no plans to run for the late Senator Feinstein's Senate seat. Have you ruled it out completely?

No, no, no. How can I rule it out? I didn't even think about it. It's like it's not there. Look,

Look, I'm busy now with show business, and so running for any office is not even in the game.

Politics are not in your future at all?

I don't see it at all because I can see the impact that I have and the way I can talk freely today about politics and about issues without having to worry about, oh, what does my party think when I say that and what does so-and-so say and what do my constituents say? I don't have to worry about anything. I can say anything that I want, and everything that I say comes from my heart and comes from my concern for America.

I have read that you have said that Governor Gavin Newsom, you think it's obvious that at some point he will likely run for president. Do you think he would be a strong president at some point in the future?

I have no idea. I couldn't tell you that.

Based on his record as Governor of California, based on what you've seen?

First of all, let me just say that previous governors should never talk about the current governor. You don't do that, because yes, there is Gray Davis and there's Jerry Brown and there's me and there's Pete Wilson and all discussed that is still alive. We don't want to go and chime in and attack. If it is Willie Brown, not Willie Brown, but the Jerry Brown, or if it is Newsom, we don't want to chime in and just say, well, we don't agree with what he's doing here. Of course, we would never agree on everything. Doesn't exist. But the bottom line is, I want him to go and to be successful in California because then California is successful. I want him to be successful if he does anything at a nationwide level. I'm perfectly fine with it. As a matter of fact, I'm fine with it no matter what the party is, because to me what is important is that America is successful, that we are going in the right direction. That's the most important thing.

Do you still feel at home in the Republican party?

Absolutely. When I go up to Capitol Hill and I meet with my Republican colleagues, I have a great time meeting with them and talking about the environment and talking about the important issues and all that stuff. I don't look at them as crazies like some people do. There's some people that are extreme, but there's no reason to villainize anybody.

What do you say to them about funding for Ukraine? Is that something you are stressing to them to continue?

I have not talked to them about that.

What would your message be to them?

You have to understand that is... I think that the funding for Ukraine is being picked up at the press. It's an interesting subject. But the bottom line is I think Republicans have been reluctant about funding anything because we have such an enormous budget deficit and we have such an enormous debt. So of course there is always going to be the conversation, should we spend this money in Ukraine? Which I happen to argue with because I say it's not spending money, it's investing, because we're investing in the safety of the future of the world, because we don't want Russia to be successful in their mission. (30:33) But I understand also the question, should we spend it on domestic issues or should we give this to foreign countries? No, that's a fair question. I of course am very much for investing in the Ukraine, sending them weapons, sending them money, and all of that stuff, and I hope at the same time, Ukraine shows accountability and shows that the corruption is decreasing and all of those kind of things at the same time.

I just finally want to ask you about your legacy. You were obviously born in Austria in 1947. You have talked about how your father was affiliated with the Nazi party. You did speak out after January sixth. You compared that insurrection to Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass, when Nazis burned synagogues and obviously Jewish businesses and homes. When you think about the future of this country, given your history, what are your biggest concerns?

My biggest concern is that we lose our edge, and we are losing our edge because we don't work together. Part of it is what you just addressed. We cannot look at blacks as the other side. Blacks cannot look at us white people like we are the other side. We are the same people. The same is with Democrats and Republicans. We all have to come together. This is the only thing that really will divide us and will weaken us. We have to stay strong. We have to stay number one in the world like we are now. This has been done, when you look at the histories, through hard work, a lot of struggle, a lot of having clear visions, people, visionaries that had clear visions and worked in that direction. It needs that to continue on for us to be number one. (32:34) That, to me, is all about... I look at it in a global way that America has to stay number one. That's my biggest concern, that we are slipping with that if we continue being divisive and being divided. That's why I urge everyone to think about the better good of the world and the better good of America, rather than the better good of their party and their idea getting stuck in ideological corners. Come together. That is where the action is.

Just Governor, finally, what do you hope your legacy will be?

It's up to the people. They can decide that. Because body builders, we'll say one thing and actors will say something else and people in politics will say something else. I leave this up to the people. My thing is just I want to give back and make this a better country and a better place.

Anything else you'd like to say, Governor?

No, thank you. You did a great job with the interview.

Thank you very much.

[inaudible 00:33:33].

I appreciate you're sitting for so many questions.

I feel like I'm sitting here with Tim Russert. It's unbelievable. What is going on here?

Thank you.

Oh man, he would be proud of you.

That's the nicest thing you could have said to me. Thank you.

Tim Russert will be proud of you.

Thank you, Governor. Thank you.

I can tell you right now.

Thank you. That means so much to me.

No, it's true.

You have no idea. Thank you.

Yeah, he was a good friend of mine.

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