Arnold Schwarzenegger Pokes Hole In Gavin Newsom’s Threat To Stiff Uncle Sam

Former California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger warned that incumbent Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to withhold tax payments could unleash the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Newsom made the threat in a Friday post on X after President Donald Trump floated the possibility of stripping federal funding from California over its sanctuary state policies. Schwarzenegger was on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” when host Jimmy Kimmel how the former two-term governor would handle Trump’s threat.

“How would you handle Donald Trump in this situation where he is threatening to withhold federal funding from our students, from our schools, from disabled students? We are a state that pays more to the federal government than we get in return from the federal government. Is it realistic, this idea that Governor Newsom has floated, that we would just stop paying them the money that we pay them?” Kimmel asked, with Schwarzenegger responding, “Well, it sounds always easy, isn’t it?”

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“It sounds it, but never is,” Kimmel agreed, with Schwarzenegger saying, “It doesn’t happen because every individual in California pays taxes, pays the state tax, local tax, and pays federal tax. So how are you going to stop them from doing that? Then the IRS is coming after you.”

Trump and Newsom also clashed over Trump’s response to the rioting in Los Angeles, with Newsom claiming Trump “commandeered” National Guard personnel and “chose escalation” in an eight-minute diatribe given hours after Democratic Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles declared