Schwarzenegger Wants Manchin to Run for President in 2024

Arnold Schwarzenegger attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Netflix's "FUBAR" at The Grove in Los Angeles on May 22, 2023. Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) would be a better presidential candidate than either former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden.

During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Schwarzenegger was asked if there was any candidate in the 2024 White House race that he felt could “bring the type of leadership that’s needed right now.” The former governor responded by saying that candidates other than President Biden and President Trump had not been given enough chances to succeed.

“Well, you know, I don’t think we give those people enough chance because it’s all Trump, Trump, Trump, Biden, Biden, Biden. So, I mean, so these are the things that the press talks about,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said.

Asked who he thought would stand out, Mr. Schwarzenegger named Mr. Manchin, calling the senator “a great force.”

“You know, I think, like, Joe Manchin is one of them that I think stands out because he is kind of like a center guy. He comes from an energy state, but he’s a Democrat. So he knows the challenges and all that. But he’s one of the guys that I think is really a great force,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said.

“But there’s many others,” he added, without naming anyone else. “In general, without endorsing anybody, I think we have to give people a chance to emerge.

“The political system is set up in such a way right now that Trump is kind of like taking the air out of everything, you know, and Biden is doing it on the other side. And so it kind of like comes down to both of them running really for president.”

Mr. Manchin’s Senate seat is up for reelection in 2024, but the Democrat has not yet said whether he will run. In August, he said he had been “seriously” considering leaving the Democrat Party and becoming an independent.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, questions Interior Secretary Deb Haaland during a hearing in Washington on May 2, 2023. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Earlier this month, Mr. Manchin indicated he’s open to running for president in 2024, saying he “could bring it together.” He added that he will make a decision by the end of this year on whether to embark on a third-party bid for president.

Recently, Mr. Manchin warned that the U.S. two-party system could be “the downfall of our country” unless there are changes.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made a switch, announcing on Oct. 9 that he will run for president as an independent instead of a Democrat.

Mr. Schwarzenegger, born in Austria, cannot legally run for president. If he could, the former governor said he would “love” to run.

“I would love to run for president. I would love to have the opportunity to do that and to show America that we can come together, and to do the kind of things that Ronald Reagan did,” he said. “I think that I have the ability of bringing people together. I have the ability of talking about issues without villainizing the other side.”

The Democratic field currently includes President Biden, Marianne Williamson, and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.). While President Biden continues to be the clear frontrunner, his approval rating continues to be low.

According to the latest Gallup poll, President Biden’s overall approval rating dropped to 37 percent in October, down from 41 percent in September. The latest percentage also matches his personal low.

In terms of his approval rating among Democrats, President Biden netted 75 percent in September, a drop of 11 percentage points from a month earlier. The latest approval rating with his party is the worst reading of his presidency.

The Gallup poll asked 1,009 adults from Oct. 2 to Oct. 23.

Meanwhile, President Trump continues to have a commanding lead in FiveThirtyEight’s GOP presidential primary poll average. As of Oct. 28, the average shows the former president with 56.9 percent support nationally, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a distant second with 14.1 percent.