Arnold Schwarzenegger dismisses Green New Deal as 'bogus'

Hollywood actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) said in an interview published Friday that the Green New Deal championed by progressives such as Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is "bogus" and dismissed the initiative as just being "a slogan."

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When Schwarzenegger, a staunch environmentalist, was asked by The Atlantic to describe his thoughts on the Green New Deal, he responded, "A slogan. Kind of a marketing tool. Something that is very well intentioned, but, I think, bogus. Because that's what they always do—they call things different names and different people talk about it."

Schwarzenegger joins a chorus of critics of the Green New Deal. The sweeping proposal estimated to cost tens of trillions of dollars aimed to retrofit every building in the country and transform the economy through social justice initiatives and the dismantling of industries. It failed miserably before Congress last year, despite several Democrats' public support.

The former governor of California said the global warming laws implemented by his state should be the model for the country, saying, "If the nation really wants to be serious in reducing greenhouse gases by 25 percent like we did, all they have to do is copy us. That's what states are supposed to do, to be the laboratory for the federal government, and just have the federal government copy very good ideas done by various states."

The Hill described Schwarzenegger as "a vocal critic of President [Donald] Trump's climate policies," and in The Atlantic interview, the former governor was asked why he remains a Republican in the age of Trump.

"Well, I think I'm a true Republican," Schwarzenegger replied. "If you look at Ronald Reagan or President Nixon or President Lincoln, these were people that were fighting for equality. I'm inclusive. I see myself as that. I see myself as a Ronald Reagan Republican, someone that is very, very good with protecting the economy, but also good at protecting the environment."