Arnold Schwarzenegger Criticizes Trump’s 2020 Budget; Yes, This Is a Real Headline

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California and a longtime Republican, shared a video on Twitter condemning Donald Trump’s budget for cutting $1.3 billion from after-school programs. If a time traveler from just two decades ago read that sentence, we could possibly put them at risk of having a heart attack. We live in the strangest of times.

The Governator boiled down the issues with the singularly awful budget to one question: “Why give it to the rich folks and take it away from the poor little kids?”

President @realDonaldTrump, we need to talk about your decision to cut after-school programs from the budget. pic.twitter.com/KdQAoZ0Fvm

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) March 12, 2019

Schwarzenegger has been a critic of Trump ever since the 2016 election, declaring then that he would not vote for the Republican candidate for the first time since gaining citizenship.

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

The former pro bodybuilder told Politico in an interview on Tuesday that after-school programs (a cause he has championed since entering politics) help save the government money in the long run.

“For every dollar we put in, you save three dollars down the line in juvenile crime, teenage pregnancy, drugs, gangs and violence. It’s short-sightedness … and I’m going to be back there in Washington and fight for it,” he said.

Schwarzenegger told Politico that he was inviting Trump and members of his administration to observe these programs at work at Hart Middle School in Washington, D.C.

“I will be there in two seconds. And I will show them firsthand how efficiently this program runs—and what a tremendous impact it makes on the children, the community and the parents and on the whole neighborhood,” the Kindergarten Cop actor said.

Jodi Grant, head of the national advocacy group Afterschool Alliance, told Politico that “if the federal dollars go away, we’re going to have 1.7 million kids with nowhere to go—and no safety net.”

The budget has no chance of passing, but all the same, it’s time for prominent Republicans like Schwarzenegger to stand up to Trump’s agenda.