USA 2024 Elections Thread

[grarpamp]

Schwarzenegger gave a speech and explained that he was a Republican
because he believed the Democrats of the 1960s sounded too much like
Austrian socialists.[103]

    I finally arrived here in 1968. What a special day it was. I
remember I arrived here with empty pockets but full of dreams, full of
determination, full of desire. The presidential campaign was in full
swing. I remember watching the Nixon–Humphrey presidential race on TV.
A friend of mine who spoke German and English translated for me. I
heard Humphrey saying things that sounded like socialism, which I had
just left. But then I heard Nixon speak. He was talking about free
enterprise, getting the government off your back, lowering the taxes
and strengthening the military. Listening to Nixon speak sounded more
like a breath of fresh air. I said to my friend, I said, "What party
is he?" My friend said, "He's a Republican." I said, "Then I am a
Republican." And I have been a Republican ever since.

 Schwarzenegger famously introduced the first episode of the 1990
Milton Friedman hosted PBS series Free to Choose stating:

    I truly believe that the series has changed my life, and when you
have such a powerful experience as that, I think you shouldn't keep it
to yourself, so I wanted to share it with you. Being 'Free to choose'
for me means being free to make your own decisions, free to live your
own life, pursue your own goals, chase your own rainbow without the
government breathing down on your neck or standing on your shoes. For
me that meant coming here to America, because I came from a
socialistic country where the government controls the economy. It's a
place where you can hear 18-year-old kids already talking about their
pension. But me, I wanted more. I wanted to be the best. Individualism
like that is incompatible with socialism. So I felt I had to come to
America.[105][106]

Schwarzenegger goes on to tell of how he and his then wife Maria
Shriver were in Palm Springs preparing to play a game of mixed doubles
when Milton Friedman's famous show came on the television.
Schwarzenegger recalls that while watching Friedman's Free to Choose,
Schwarzenegger, "...recognized Friedman from the study of my own
degree in economics, but I didn't know I was watching Free to
Choose... it knocked me out. Dr. Friedman expressed, validated and
explained everything I ever thought or experienced or observed about
the way the economy works, and I guess I was really ready to hear it."