Arnold Schwarzenegger — veteran bodybuilder, actor, former Republican governor of California, and legal immigrant — has no love for President Donald Trump.
Thus, the ladies of ABC’s “The View,” who regularly spread pro-establishment and anti-Trump propaganda, undoubtedly thought they could get Schwarzenegger to parrot their deranged narrative in support of illegal immigration.
Boy, did they miscalculate.
In a clip posted Tuesday to the social media platform X, Schwarzenegger first extolled the myriad virtues of America from an immigrant’s perspective and then, to the dismay of the show’s liberal co-hosts, insisted that immigrants have a responsibility to respect the United States and to do things legally.
The segment began with co-host Joy Behar trying to bait Schwarzenegger on Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Did you have a visceral reaction to what they’re doing — what ICE is doing — when you see the videos of it?” Behar asked, clearly trying to draw from Schwarzenegger a denunciation of federal immigration agents.
To his credit, however, the former governor did not take the bait.
Instead, Schwarzenegger did three things.
First, he spent nearly a minute praising America as a land of opportunity in which he has thrived.
Next, he spent almost another minute talking about a speech he will deliver at George Washington’s estate, Mount Vernon, which will feature the swearing in of new citizens.
Finally — and this the co-hosts did not expect — he admonished misbehaving immigrants.
“But the key thing also is, at the same time, that we’ve got to do things legal,” he said.
“And those people that are doing illegal things in America, and that are foreigners, they are not smart,” he added moments later, “because when you come to America, you’re a guest, and you have to behave like a guest.
“Like, when I go to someone’s house, and I’m a guest, then I will do everything I can to keep things clean, and to make my bed, and to do everything that is the right thing to do, rather than committing a crime or being abusive or something like that.”
In the middle of Schwarzenegger’s comments, deranged co-host Sunny Hostin put her hand on his arm. Clearly, she hoped to interrupt him. But he kept talking.
The former governor added that immigrants who take advantage of opportunities must then pay it forward.
“You have a responsibility as an immigrant to give back to America,” he said.
Then came another attempted interruption from a dismayed co-host, but applause from the audience drowned out the interruption.
Readers may watch Schwarzenegger’s comments in the clip below. His admonition to misbehaving immigrants began around the 1:55 mark.
Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t take the bait when The View’s Joy Behar asks him about the ICE raids in California:
“I’m so, so happy to see first-hand that this IS the greatest country in the world and it IS the land of opportunity…
…When you come to America, you’re a guest.… pic.twitter.com/4FKa47Q6KM
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 17, 2025
Meanwhile, a second clip, also posted to X, showed the co-hosts’ responses.
“Don’t forget,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg preached to the former immigrant, “Ninety percent of the people who come here are trying to do the right thing.”
“They’re less likely to commit crimes,” co-host Sunny Hostin added. Never mind the fact that immigrating illegally, by definition, constitutes a crime.
Schwarzenegger took a sip from his coffee mug, nodded a few times, but otherwise seemed unimpressed by the illegal immigration apologists and pro-establishment nitwits at the table with him.
Readers may view that second clip below. Goldberg’s attempt to chide Schwarzenegger for his unacceptably sensible remarks began around the 1:23 mark.
Sunny Hostin, who’s descended from staunch slave owners, lectures Austrian immigrant Arnold Schwarzenegger about immigrants in America:
ARNOLD: You have to do things legal…and those people that are doing illegal things in America and they’re the foreigners, they are not smart.… pic.twitter.com/mMKG08CFPB
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) June 17, 2025
All in all, the exchange proved both astonishing and predictable at the same time.
On one hand, it is astonishing that “The View” booked Schwarzenegger again and asked him about illegal immigration, for his America-loving paean to personal responsibility was surely the last thing Behar, Goldberg, and Hostin wanted to hear.
On the other hand, how predictable that the co-hosts could not even acknowledge his argument. How typical of them to resort to talking points about immigrants and crime, rather than concede the fact that people whose first act upon entering the country involves breaking the law bear responsibility for that and any other illegal behavior.
In sum, Schwarzenegger has said some reprehensible things in recent years. But Tuesday’s appearance on “The View” reminds us of why he became a Republican — and an American — in the first place.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.