Can Arnold Schwarzenegger run for the US presidency?

In an interview, the actor said: 'I just hope that America finds some really young blood'
Fane Presents An Evening With Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger has held political office before, as governor of California
Getty Images for Fane
Maryam Kara25 October 2023

Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he feels he would make a great president of the US.

In an interview with the BBC, the 76-year-old actor and former governor of California went on to say: "But I feel that, at the same time, everything I've accomplished was because of America.

"America gave me so many opportunities and the American people were so embracive, and they just received me with open arms. There was no one there that stopped me from my success."

He added: "I just hope that America finds some really young blood."

He was referring to the 2024 presidential elections when it is expected Joe Biden and Donald Trump will be rivals once again.

More fascinating for fans of the actor, though, is that the comments have raised questions about who can run for president and whether this includes Schwarzenegger.

So what are the requirements to run for president?

Certain legal requirements for being president of the US have remained the same since George Washington was sworn into office during the first United States inauguration in 1789.

According to the Qualifications Clause set forth in Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the US Constitution, the president must be at least 35 years old and a natural-born citizen of the United States. He or she must have also been a resident of the United States for 14 years.

Other requirements include maturity and experience in public roles.

Can Arnold Schwarzenegger run for president?

It will undoubtedly come as a massive blow for fans of Schwarzenegger to find that while the actor is older than 35 and has had dual citizenship for over 14 years, he was not born in the States. Rather, he left for America in 1968 at the age of 21 after growing up in Austria.

So the time Schwarzenegger spent in a public, political role, another condition for being a candidate, when he was governor of California is no help to him.

However, he has appeared to have a positive outlook towards the lack of prospects of going for the top job. He said: "The only thing that I can't do, which is run for president, I'm not going to complain about that."

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