Page Six: Schwarzenegger Wants the White House

Arnold Schwarzenegger — body builder, action star, and former California governor — wants to be president. And he's apparently launching an effort to amend the U.S. Constitution so he can run.

Schwarzenegger — whose newest film, "Escape Plan," co-starring Sylvester Stallone, opened this weekend —  has been lobbying for support to change the Constitution so he can run for president in the next election, a source told the New York Post's Page Six.

Schwarzenegger reportedly has been talking openly about his presidential ambitions while promoting the new film in New York City, and the source told Page Six that he is "ready to file legal paperwork to challenge the rules."

Schwarzenegger didn't comment to Page Six for the report, but took to Twitter Friday to deny that he wants to change the Constitution.



Schwarzenegger was born in Austria and became a U.S. citizen in 1983. His foreign birth did not prohibit him from becoming governor of California, but the Constitution specifies that only "a natural-born citizen of the United States" can become president.

Schwarzenegger would have a tough fight getting approval of a constitutional amendment. Amendments must be approved by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress and be ratified by three-quarters of the states.

Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah introduced a constitutional amendment in 2003 to allow anyone who has been a citizen for 20 years to be eligible for the presidency. His bill, which became known as the "Arnold Bill" got nowhere.

There is some popular support for a Schwarzenegger campaign. Nearly 30,000 people already have "liked" a Facebook fan page, Arnold Schwarzenegger for President 2016, which went online last year.

The former governor told Jay Leno in 2010 that he would be very interested in running for president should the law be changed.

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