Politics
Arnold Schwarzenegger Shreds Newsom’s Radical Tax Rebellion Plan
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger took a hard swipe at Governor Gavin Newsom’s latest political stunt—floating the idea that California should withhold federal tax payments in protest of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on sanctuary state policies. In a candid interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Schwarzenegger dismantled the idea as unrealistic, irresponsible, and pure political theater.
Newsom’s proposal came in response to President Trump threatening to withhold federal funding from California due to its refusal to comply with federal immigration enforcement. In what many are calling a reckless overreach, Newsom suggested that California should “just stop paying” the federal government altogether—a notion Schwarzenegger quickly labeled as fantasy.
Kimmel kicked off the segment by asking bluntly: “Is it realistic, this idea that Governor Newsom has floated that we would just stop paying them the money that we pay them?”
“Well, it sounds always easy, doesn’t it?” Schwarzenegger replied. “This doesn’t happen because every individual in California pays taxes—pays the state tax, local tax, and pays federal tax. So how are you going to stop them from doing that?”
He continued, warning of the real consequences: “And then if the IRS is coming after you… I mean, this is—look, I just want everyone to know, this is all dialogue. This is rhetoric.”
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The exchange served as a reality check for Newsom’s plan, which has drawn criticism for misleading Californians into thinking the state has the power to halt federal tax payments—a move that would violate the law and put ordinary citizens in legal jeopardy.
Schwarzenegger also used the moment to slam both political parties for engaging in endless finger-pointing. “The left going after the right, the right going after the left. I mean, the bottom line is they should get together,” he said. “Rather than always pointing the finger at each other, they should really get together and solve this problem because that’s what the American people want.”
Newsom’s comments come as tensions rise across California, particularly in Los Angeles, where violent riots broke out following an ICE operation that resulted in mass arrests. For five straight days, streets were set ablaze and businesses looted while city officials offered little response.
President Trump responded by deploying 700 U.S. Marines and federalized National Guard troops to restore order—prompting Newsom to accuse Trump of “escalating” the situation and commandeering the National Guard.
Schwarzenegger, while no Trump loyalist, emphasized the importance of unity and resilience. “People always say to me, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on in America right now?’” he said. “And I said to them, relax. I came over here in 1968 when it was a disaster… Martin Luther King was assassinated. Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. There were the riots left and right because of the Vietnam War… And then after that, there was Watergate.”
Despite that turmoil, he reminded viewers, America recovered. “We got out of that mess. So America will always get out of this mess. And we will get out of this, believe me.”
“The key thing here is that the federal government and the state and the locals work together to solve those problems,” Schwarzenegger concluded.
