Perhaps wanting to take his ongoing Twitter war with the President to the Senate floor, former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger may be mulling a run for Dianne Feinstein's Senate seat in 2018 though it's unclear whether he would do so as a Republican or as an independent. Politico picked up the rumor via an unnamed GOP strategist who sees the Terminator star and recently former Celebrity Apprentice host as potentially the GOP's best shot at taking a California seat away from the Democrats.
For his part, at least via a spokesperson, Schwarzenegger isn't dismissing the idea, but he's far from declaring his candidacy. And though Feinstein will be 85 years old when she comes up for reelection next year, she's said she has no plans to retire, and she has a penchant for withering takedowns of the President and other Republicans that could prove useful in upcoming debates, not to mention the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
Schwarzenegger spokesperson Daniel Ketchell tells Politico, "Right now Gov. Schwarzenegger’s focus is on using his platform to bring some sensibility and coherency to Washington by fighting for redistricting reform, like we did in California. We are keeping all of our options open as far as how we can accomplish that."
A clue as to the former governor's potential candidacy as an independent came in a recent criticism of both parties on the subject of gerrymandering. He posted the video below to Facebook in February saying that everyone in Washington has "rigged the system," and "Republicans and Democrats are incredibly skilled at screwing over the voters and keeping them in the dark about their trickery."
But can we really keep running reality TV stars and actors for high office?
Fox News notes that "Schwarzenegger and Trump have been battling on Twitter for months," seeming to take pleasure in the possibility of Schwarzenegger being able to bring the fight to the President's doorstep.
As the unnamed strategist put it to Politico, Feinstein's Senate seat "would give Arnold the stage to jam Trump for the next 16 months."
But obviously this would be less useful to the Republican Party if Schwarzenegger votes with the Democrats or otherwise doesn't toe the line in backing Trump.
Anything for one less blue seat, I guess?
Previously: In Preparation For Trump Presidency, Dianne Feinstein Gets Pacemaker