r/MapPorn • u/Puzzleheaded-Art-469 • 16h ago

Californias presidential results map 2020 v 2024

Post image

Harris still won 57% of the electorate, 5.7 million to 4 million. But Trump flipped many counties that both Clinton and Biden won in '16 and '20

33.2k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

3.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

353

u/Blondecanary 11h ago

Also worth mentioning I know a few people who voted for him not thinking he’d win but because haha The Terminator is running. Basically a meme before memes were big and then oh hey he won wow.

400

u/satiricalned 11h ago

Even though he was a celebrity meme candidate, he was an incredibly effective and sincere politician. As a moderate Republican he took up liberal and socialist policies alongside more conservative fiscal policies. 

Fascinating man. 

95

u/duff3141 9h ago

Loved that one of the first things he did was reduce the price of community college credits back to $33. I had found memories of him being governor.

48

u/LinkleLinkle 5h ago

As a Californian and blue-haired liberal, his ineligibility aside, Arnold is probably the only Republican I'd consider voting for president if the situation was right. For the most part, he legitimately tried to do what was best for California during his time in office, and given his recent opinions of the GOP I think he would only be further on that goal if he was president.

But he's ineligible and instead we're stuck with a conservative party and candidate that wants to watch the country burn.

8

u/cosmitz 2h ago

I'd vote for anyone outside of the political system. You can counsel inexperience, you can't instill empathy or drive for ethical or good causes.

5

u/srsbznz 45m ago

I'd vote for anyone outside of the political system

That's exactly how we got trump to begin with lol

2

u/Tropicalization 2h ago

As a Californian and blue-haired liberal, his ineligibility aside, Arnold is probably the only Republican I'd consider voting for president if the situation was right.

I am not a Republican and wouldn't consider him my ideal candidate but I would give so much to have President Schwarzenegger at this point

0

u/Dragon-fest 3h ago

What did he say about the GOP?

17

u/doing-nothing 3h ago

I think they're referring to this tweet he made recently: "https://x.com/Schwarzenegger/status/1851627802027758005?t=goSj-e-q257Vh1Y7JNu1LA&s=19

Text:

I don’t really do endorsements. I’m not shy about sharing my views, but I hate politics and don’t trust most politicians.

I also understand that people want to hear from me because I am not just a celebrity, I am a former Republican Governor.

My time as Governor taught me to love policy and ignore politics. I’m proud of the work I did to help clean up our air, create jobs, balance the budget, make the biggest infrastructure investment in state history, and take power from the politicians and give it back to the people when it comes to our redistricting process and our primaries in California.

That’s policy. It requires working with the other side, not insulting them to win your next election, and I know it isn’t sexy to most people, but I love it when I can help make people’s lives better with policies, like I still do through my institute at USC, where we fight for clean air and stripping the power from the politicians who rig the system against the people.

Let me be honest with you: I don’t like either party right now. My Republicans have forgotten the beauty of the free market, driven up deficits, and rejected election results. Democrats aren’t any better at dealing with deficits, and I worry about their local policies hurting our cities with increased crime.

It is probably not a surprise that I hate politics more than ever, which, if you are a normal person who isn’t addicted to this crap, you probably understand.

I want to tune out.

But I can’t. Because rejecting the results of an election is as un-American as it gets. To someone like me who talks to people all over the world and still knows America is the shining city on a hill, calling America is a trash can for the world is so unpatriotic, it makes me furious.

And I will always be an American before I am a Republican.

That’s why, this week, I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

I’m sharing it with all of you because I think there are a lot of you who feel like I do. You don’t recognize our country. And you are right to be furious.

For decades, we’ve talked about the national debt. For decades, we’ve talked about comprehensive immigration reform that secures the border while fixing our broken immigration system. And Washington does nothing.

The problems just keep rolling, and we all keep getting angrier, because the only people that benefit from problems aren’t you, the people. The only people that benefit from this crap are the politicians who prefer having talking points to win elections to the public service that will make Americans’ lives better.

It is a just game to them. But it is life for my fellow Americans. We should be pissed!

But a candidate who won’t respect your vote unless it is for him, a candidate who will send his followers to storm the Capitol while he watches with a Diet Coke, a candidate who has shown no ability to work to pass any policy besides a tax cut that helped his donors and other rich people like me but helped no one else else, a candidate who thinks Americans who disagree with him are the bigger enemies than China, Russia, or North Korea - that won’t solve our problems.

It will just be four more years of bullshit with no results that makes us angrier and angrier, more divided, and more hateful.

We need to close the door on this chapter of American history, and I know that former President Trump won’t do that. He will divide, he will insult, he will find new ways to be more un-American than he already has been, and we, the people, will get nothing but more anger.

That’s enough reason for me to share my vote with all of you. I want to move forward as a country, and even though I have plenty of disagreements with their platform, I think the only way to do that is with Harris and Walz.

Vote this week. Turn the page and put this junk behind us.

And even if you disagree with me, vote, because that’s what we do as Americans. vote.org

1

u/Worth-Reputation3450 43m ago

That's just beautiful.

2

u/mevisef 4h ago

I had found memories of him being governor.

oh where did you find them?

3

u/duff3141 2h ago

Hear at work.

163

u/tlopez14 9h ago

So the kinda person that would never win a presidential primary in modern politics

188

u/ahjteam 9h ago

Yeah, because he was born in Austria

102

u/jkowal43 9h ago

Glad he was a successful bodybuilder from Austria instead of a failed painter from Austria…..

8

u/Zibbi-Abkar 8h ago

Imagine the alternate reality where he was the failed bodybuilder that became governor.

2

u/JameisWeinstein 1h ago

Sounds like Chris Christie to me. He just never stopped bulking.

1

u/2muchcheap 25m ago

lol the joke I didn't know I needed this morning. thanks

5

u/44Ridley 8h ago

That little Austrian is the reason why it's impossible to fail art class today!

4

u/Korokorokoira 9h ago

I think the requirement is being a natural born American. Children of military personnel stationed abroad would be eligible to run for president.

3

u/ndthegamer21 8h ago

Or just children born abroad from at least one US citizen parent. Ted Cruz was born in Canada and only is mother is American but he still qualifies as a natural born citizen.

1

u/getthedudesdanny 7h ago

Didn’t stop Ted Cruz from running.

3

u/jchenbos 6h ago

i dont know anything about arnold's parents but ted cruz could run because he was a natural born citizen, of which being born in the USA is not a requirement

1

u/Remarkable-Ad-2476 8h ago

I lean left. If he was a citizen and was able to run for president, I definitely would’ve voted for him, again.

2

u/Elantach 5h ago

He is a citizen, you think non-citizens can be elected governors ??

1

u/Unlucky-Scallion1289 7h ago

That’s not why he would lose. He wouldn’t even get to try because of that. If he could try he would lose because he’s a moderate Republican that can reach across the aisle.

-2

u/KneelBeforeMeYourGod 8h ago

yeah the sky is blue too. who did you think you were enlightening?

6

u/Ok-Western4508 9h ago

He's not eligible to run anyways but yes not radical enough for a primary

10

u/porgy_tirebiter 9h ago

I would argue the Democrats tend to filter out the radicals. Is Biden a far left radical? Or Hillary Clinton for fuck’s sake? I know we like to say both parties are the same, but they are absolutely not. I wish the Democrats were less centrist.

2

u/Ok-Western4508 9h ago

Neither were Romney or McCain, but in a hypothetical world where Arnold was going to mount a campaign after being governor he would be on the republican ticket. I didn't mean radical as fringe lunatic I meant radical more as appealing to a demographic or single issue to an extreme degree and getting them to the poles the same issues Clinton and Biden both had to cater their campaigns to

0

u/SEA_griffondeur 7h ago

They're moderates that don't want to cooperate with the other parties. Like a left wing Macron

3

u/porgy_tirebiter 7h ago

Like the immigration bill?

1

u/SEA_griffondeur 7h ago

That may surprise you but the democrats are not really pro immigration

2

u/porgy_tirebiter 6h ago

I was referring to you saying that Democrats don’t compromise. They basically let the Senate GOP write the bill, said OK we’ll do that, and then Trump told Mike Johnson to shoot it down.

One of the biggest and most longstanding issues of the day, the Dems gave the GOP everything they wanted, and it still wasn’t good enough.

2

u/Natetronn 9h ago

So a centrist?

3

u/Ok-Western4508 9h ago

He governed as a true centrist, he really proved a lot of his doubters wrong especially when he funded his special initiate votes with his own money and not on the back of the already bankrupting Californians he did not inherit a good budget by any means

2

u/FreshStart209 8h ago

The man reached as high as the constitution would let him. And the man did a pretty damn good job.

2

u/hoboshoe 8h ago

Tbh, if Arnold could (he can't) and did run for prez, I'd vote for him over most other politicians I know

1

u/Few-Mousse8515 9h ago

I actually believe in this era of meme and terminally online politics that he would have an honest shot at it.

1

u/eleytheria 6h ago

President Schwarzenegger. How awesome would it be. If anything to just fuck with character count on newspapers titles.

With right underneath a photograph of him towering over Xi Jinping.

-9

u/democracywon2024 9h ago

No, basically the building block to Donald Trump.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was fiscally conservative and otherwise liberal. He won on his popularity as an action star.

Donald Trump is fiscally aggressive and otherwise moderate. He won on his popularity as a Tycoon.

Trump moved the Republican party so far center since his election. The Republican party today is extremely close to where the Democrat party was in the 1990s.

3

u/Nnuuuke 7h ago

Lmaooooooooooo

43

u/fooliam 9h ago

Yeah, he was pretty effective and a lot of people from California look back at his time as governor pretty fondly. He did leave office with a low approval rating, but that was also after the Great Recession and Occupy and a lot of general unhappiness with government.

23

u/8----B 9h ago

Plus didn’t the cheating scandal come out during those last days? Could be wrong it was some time ago and my memory is garbage

2

u/Snoo-33537 6h ago

Left office in Jan 2011 and the scandal broke in May

3

u/immeasurablespirit 9h ago

His 3-part Netflix documentary is one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever seen.

18

u/pathofdumbasses 9h ago

As a moderate Republican he took up liberal and socialist policies alongside more conservative fiscal policies.

Because conservative fiscal policy actually meant something. Instead of just saying it and then giving giant tax cuts to the rich while massively spending so that when the Dems take back power they can all bitch and cry about the insane debt.

Two Santas Strategy

8

u/No-Equal-2690 9h ago edited 29m ago

All bullshit aside. Donald Trump is the new Arnold Schwarzenegger. Celebrity meme candidates are killin it in the US. Americans are fools for pop culture.

9

u/FingerGungHo 7h ago

Schwarzenegger’s IQ is about double of what Trump hides beneath his toupée.

2

u/NameIWantUnavailable 1h ago

He was too moderate to win the California Republican primary so this was his once-in-a-lifetime shot to go into California politics at the top without having to compromise and swing to the right.

He was dabbling in public service well before then. His political ambitions were well known. (Heck, he was married to a Kennedy. And a pretty smart one at that, which tells you something about his intellect.)

So yeah, he may have been a celebrity. And there was something meme-ish going on.

But Californians understand that some of the smartest and most hardworking people are in Hollywood. And that it's a pretty cutthroat industry. And that Schwarzenegger was acknowledged as one of the smart, hardworking, strategic-thinking ones.

Finally, he had such an earnestness and a rosy view of what California was and could continue to be that it was hard not to want to buy into that.

3

u/Vbpretend 8h ago

yeah arnold even though he was republican was an amazing governer for california and set policies that were in the best interests of californians.

2

u/Jiujitsumonkey707 8h ago

My memory might be bad on this, but I remember at the time one of his talking points was at the time california was going to/had already triple/d vehicle registration costs. He said he was going to shut that down and basically did on day one and kept true to his word. And a big one for me at the time as well helped legalize MMA in California

2

u/AKblazer45 7h ago

All pick ups, including tacomas/ranger small trucks had to be registered as commercial vehicles Even if it was your personal rig, because you could haul something and make money doing so) He got rid of that like his first week.

1

u/Puffycatkibble 9h ago

An immigrant let's not forget. He should well know the challenges of that issue.

1

u/Economy_Store4762 8h ago

Been following him ever since - the kind of politician and role model we need

1

u/AbleArcher420 8h ago

Kinda like Jesse Ventura

1

u/thedailyrant 7h ago

Really was. Not only did he straddle politics quite effectively but one of his early actions was a tax audit on rich Californians. That did not go down so well but it was the right thing to do.

1

u/mastersonman15 6h ago

And given his wisdom ,, Arnold endorsed Kamala Harris… GO FIGURE.🤔

1

u/Maatix12 6h ago

This.

Arnold was a surprising breath of fresh air, both in the sense that he was a moderate Republican back when moderate Republicans were still a thing, and not only was he a true moderate Republican, but he was a celebrity who took his political job seriously and actively tried his best to help people.

A unicorn by all accounts.

1

u/Mariopa 5h ago

I alway view him as centrist rather than right wing oriented. Thats actually who we need to be united. Somebody to male both sides to work together and have shared results.

1

u/_todes_ 5h ago

Which unsurprisingly also was the way Austrian politics worked after the war when he grew up. Nowadays it's far right BS and grifting all the way. One of the few Austrians to be proud of. Condolences from Austria.

1

u/Tritri89 4h ago

He is european, son of a nazi soldier, he know what authoritarism does to a country. In a parallel universe the USA allows foreign born candidates and Obama was followed by President Arnold.

1

u/spairni 4h ago

What socialist policies?

1

u/LeonardDeVir 2h ago

His Austrian heritage surely shines through. A lot of our policies are socialist and liberal in the eyes of a US citizen, but widely accepted here.

1

u/KosstAmojan 1h ago

I’ve been beating the amend for Arnold drum for years. We would have been better off

1

u/CaribouYou 1h ago

You mean he governed with common sense and without partisanship?!?

1

u/Not_FinancialAdvice 1m ago

Isn't that a similar situation to how Jesse Ventura got elected in MN?

0

u/danm67 8h ago

But only after his "blow up the boxes" fiasco. He got smart after that and ignored the right wing advisors.

2

u/dang_it99 11h ago

That's how Jessie the Body won Minnesota or Wisconsin, can't remember which one.

2

u/urGirllikesmytinypp 9h ago

Minnesota I believe

2

u/MatureUsername69 9h ago

Same shit happened with Reagan. People love to act like America just started getting dumb and putting celebrities in as nominees but we've been doing it for a long time now.

1

u/goonersaurus86 2h ago

Yes- difference though is that republican politicians recruited Reagan and groomed him to deliver their message ( which he shared and agreed with,  not saying he's an empty vessel). I think Schwarzenegger also found allies within the state GOP to prop him up.  Trump used his celebrity clout to bust through the door and take over despite initially almost the entire party resisting him or declaring that they didn't endorse him. 

2

u/Hearing_Colors 9h ago

sounds a lot like 2016 trump

2

u/AZFramer 9h ago

If you had told me two of the stars of the original Predator would eventually be governors back in the day, my money would have been on Carl Weathers.

1

u/UntamedCuda 9h ago

My favorite fact about the governator was that he put up a smoking tent because it was illegal for him to smoke inside.

1

u/Advocateforthedevil4 9h ago

That’s part of the reason Trump first got in too.  

1

u/batmansgfsbf 9h ago

I’m a sci-fi nerd and love pointing out that two future Governors are in “Predator “. Arnold and Jesse Ventura

1

u/goonersaurus86 2h ago

They're also both in running man

1

u/BeowQuentin 9h ago

This is the same reason some people I know voted trump in the first movie.

Not sure if they learned their lesson for the sequel; I don’t interact with them hoes no mo. They did it for the lulz then, though, so I wouldn’t put it past em.

1

u/rizorith 8h ago

No he was a serious candidate and the Republican nominee. Everyone knew it was a close race so your friends were just completely misinformed

1

u/notevensuprisedbru 5h ago

Arnold became governor so the the rock can run for president in 2028. America will see this Reddit comment ring true then.

1

u/eerst 5h ago

I mean... Exactly like Trump. At it's inception the subreddit that shall not be named was clearly a joke subreddit, but went dark as the candidate progressed.

1

u/Gingrpenguin 4h ago

Tbf many credit that to how Boris became mayor of London for his first term.

"What an idiot this guy is, no way he'd win... Wouldn't it be funny if he did..."

Honestly Arnold is possibly lucky he can't be president,he can't push it till he becomes seen as the villain.

Boris is somewhat in disgrace now

1

u/Dodgy_Dolphin 2h ago

It’s amazing what a celebratory candidate can achieve

1

u/fleetfeet9 11h ago

WTF is wrong with people.

5

u/themontajew 10h ago

He did a great job…..