Republicans have been dropping like flies in their support for Donald Trump since his 2005 comments regarding women were released on Friday. Mike Pence issued a statement saying he does not defend his running mate’s comments and Paul Ryan said he was “sickened” by his actions. But the most damaging criticism may have come from Jericho Cane himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
On Saturday, Schwarzenegger, who is a registered Republican and served as California’s governor for eight years, said in a statement that for the first time since becoming a U.S. citizen in 1983, he would not be voting Republican in the presidential election. In a lengthy statement posted on this Twitter page, the Kindergarten Cop star said he has been conflicted by the current election and said it is the duty of citizens to vote for their country, not their party:
As proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else – American. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/biRvY8S3aZ
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) October 8, 2016
While Schwarzenegger did not explicitly say his choice not to vote Republican is tied to Trump’s comments, the timing, and language of the statement seem to suggest so. And what makes the situation all the more interesting is that Schwarzenegger was chosen to host the new seasons of The Apprentice, after NBC canned Trump for some of his other previous inflammatory remarks. And Schwarzenegger has had his own checkered past with women, as in 2003 he was accused of inappropriately touching them.