Administration

Schwarzenegger mocks Trump on coal bailout: Protect pagers, Blockbuster too

Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Friday mocked reports that President Trump is considering a plan to prolong the use of struggling coal and nuclear plants, saying he eagerly awaits the administration’s regulations to protect pagers, fax machines and Blockbuster.

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“I eagerly await the administration’s regulations protecting pagers, fax machines, and Blockbuster,” Schwarzenegger tweeted, citing a report that the Trump administration may order grid operators to buy electricity from coal and nuclear plants that are at risk of closing.

The report cites a memo directing the Energy Department to instruct grid operators to buy power from a source contained on a list of designated plants. Hours after the report was published, the White House announced that Trump ordered Energy Secretary Rick Perry to take “immediate steps” to preclude the closures of coal and nuclear power plants.

Critics say the move is an unprecedented intervention into U.S. energy markets.

Trump has repeatedly voiced his support for coal workers and during the 2016 presidential campaign said he’d bring more jobs back to the industry. 

Schwarzenegger and Trump have had an ongoing feud for years now.

In May, Schwarzenegger urged Americans against “falling toward our lowest instincts” after The Hill reported that a White House aide mocked Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) terminal brain cancer diagnosis.

He also attacked Trump back in February, tweeting that “you don’t” drain the swamp by defending gerrymandering after the president spoke out against Pennsylvania’s new congressional map.

Trump has ripped Schwarzenegger as well.

In 2017, he said Schwarzenegger was a bad governor and said NBC had fired the actor for the “bad (pathetic) ratings” “The Celebrity Apprentice” had following Schwarzenegger’s run as host of the once Trump-hosted reality show.