Arnold Schwarzenegger says politics needs a leader like Deion Sanders who's focused on 'the big picture' of how to be 'No. 1 as a country'

Ex-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised Deion Sanders, a former NFL and MLB star who is now a football coach at the University of Colorado.

• Schwarzenegger said the US needs a "big picture" leader like Deion Sanders to produce results.
• "We need a leader who has the energy to bring people together," he told The New York Times Magazine.
• Sanders, a former NFL and MLB star, is now the head football coach at the University of Colorado.

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a recent interview said that American politics is in dire need of a leader who has the willingness to bring ideological sides together to produce concrete results.

And in his discussion with The New York Times Magazine, he suggested that politics needs a leader like former NFL and MLB star Deion Sanders, who is now the buzzy new head football coach at the University of Colorado.

"We need a leader who has the energy to bring people together, who sells that idea, and who is convincing enough to bring people together because they want to work together," Schwarzenegger told the magazine.

"I mean, what it needs is someone in politics like Deion Sanders," he said of the US. "It needs someone who comes in and doesn't talk about the details. Just talk about the big picture: We got to go and be No. 1 as a country, and this is what we need to do, and we need to have everyone come together.

"Yes, we can have differences of opinions, but it has to be run as if everyone's together on the same team for the better good," he continued. "Someone has to come forward and talk about rebuilding the country in a really great way and about the things that are really important rather than, 'Should we have a bathroom for trans people?'"

Sanders took over the reins of a football team that had a 1-11 record last season.

The Colorado Buffaloes currently have a 3-2 record under Sanders' leadership.

From 2020 to 2022, Sanders coached college football at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., where he led the Tigers to a 27-6 overall record over three seasons.

Schwarzenegger, who served as governor from 2003 to 2011, has long been known for his more moderate stances on issues like abortion and environment protection — a stark contrast to the more conservative elements of the Republican Party.