76-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger is basking in the glory of his latest success, the self-help book, Be Useful: The Seven Tools for Life. However, on Friday, the bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-politician celebrated something else. The Hollywood returned to Sacramento, California, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 2003 California Recall Election. It was the event that marked the beginning of his political career.

On his special day, the Austrian Oak addressed the crowd at Sacramento and looked back fondly on his two terms as the Governor of California. The Hollywood superstar left his lucrative career to serve the people of California. He even refused the Governor’s salary. However, Schwarzenegger also took the opportunity to lay to rest any speculations of him returning to politics. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger wishes to preserve his legacy as governor

In 2003, the actor entered politics with plans to terminate what ailed the state. After two terms, Arnie left the state in a better position in many aspects. However, like the flipside of the coin, California didn’t recover in certain aspects. Yet, the seven-time Mr. Olympia took his success and failure in stride and shut down any possibility of becoming an active member of the Republican party.

“I have no interest in running for anything,” the 76-year-old said while addressing the crowd at Sacramento. The former Mr. Olympia confessed that serving the people of California was the most rewarding venture of his life. However, Arnie disclosed that he has no plans of resuming his political career. While the bodybuilding icon desired to run for president, the constitution prevented him.

“Every single thing I have accomplished in my life is because of America, so I’m not going to complain about the one thing I can’t do,” stated the Governator. Arnold Schwarzenegger added that he had “no interest in running for Senate,” either. Arnie recently recalled how people had initially discouraged him from getting into politics.

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People thought giving up acting was a fool’s errand

While speaking to Ryan Holiday at 92NY, Arnold Schwarzenegger recalled why he had wanted to get into politics. The actor thought he could help remedy many of the problems of his beloved state in 2003. He also wanted to contribute to the nation that helped him fulfill more than he had ever dreamt of.

However, the initial reaction to the election campaign announcement was not encouraging. “People say that you’re crazy,” said Arnie. Many people underestimated Schwarzenegger’s political knowledge and thought giving up millions to become a public servant was an “insane” decision.

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