--- title: ‘Like a Little Wet Noodle.’ Arnold Schwarzenegger Is Not Impressed by President Trump’s Meeting With Vladimir Putin description: "You stood there like a little wet noodle, like a little fanboy” canonical: https://time.com/5340647/donald-trump-arnold-schwarzenegger-little-wet-noodle/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-17T06:39:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:34:38.789Z og:title: Arnold Schwarzenegger Not Impressed by Trump's Putin Meeting og:description: "You stood there like a little wet noodle, like a little fanboy” og:url: https://time.com/5340647/donald-trump-arnold-schwarzenegger-little-wet-noodle/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f506b6b29e9637a/698935838fd2ee168e35c231/gettyimages-890974390.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: French President Emmanuel Macron Receives One Planet Summit's International Leaders At Elysee Palace In Paris og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Arnold Schwarzenegger Not Impressed by Trump's Putin Meeting twitter:description: "You stood there like a little wet noodle, like a little fanboy” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f506b6b29e9637a/698935838fd2ee168e35c231/gettyimages-890974390.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Like a Little Wet Noodle.' Arnold Schwarzenegger Is Not Impressed by President Trump's Meeting With Vladimir Putin > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1116e3ab-0553-4d77-b35f-0e13ccd02fcd&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 'Like a Little Wet Noodle.' Arnold Schwarzenegger Is Not Impressed by President Trump's Meeting With Vladimir Putin [Watch (HLS stream): 'Like a Little Wet Noodle.' Arnold Schwarzenegger Is Not Impressed by President Trump's Meeting With Vladimir Putin](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mJZvOaD6.m3u8) (0:44)  _Published 2018-07-17. Arnold Schwarzenegger is pumped up about President Donald Trump’s press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin — and not in a good way_ by [Mike Miller / EW](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Mike Miller / EW Jul 17, 2018 6:39 AM UTC Arnold Schwarzenegger is pumped up about President Donald Trump’s press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin — and not in a good way by [Mike Miller / EW](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Mike Miller / EW Jul 17, 2018 6:39 AM UTC [Arnold Schwarzenegger](http://ew.com/news/2018/04/12/arnold-schwarzenegger-health-update/) is pumped up about [President Donald Trump’s](http://ew.com/tv/2018/07/12/stephen-colbert-trump-russia-germany-nato/) press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin — and not in a good way. The _Terminator_ star and former governor of California, 70, slammed Trump in an [Instagram video](https://www.instagram.com/p/BlT1xFMhUsx/?hl=en&taken-by=schwarzenegger) after the president held a press conference with Putin on Monday in Helsinki, Finland. “President Trump, I just saw your press conference with President Putin and it was embarrassing. I mean, you stood there like a little wet noodle, like a little fanboy,” Schwarzenegger scolded in the video. During the news brief, which came after the leaders met privately for over two hours, Trump seemed to accept Putin’s denial of interfering in the 2016 presidential election — despite findings to the contrary by U.S. intelligence agencies. In his response video, the actor and longtime Republican teased that Trump looked like he was going to ask Putin for an “autograph” or a “selfie.” He added that Trump “sold out” his intelligence community, the justice system, and “worst of all, our country” during the press conference. Schwarzenegger, who has attacked Trump over a number of issues in the past, wasn’t the only Republican to repudiate the president’s performance in Helsinki. House Speaker Paul Ryan, Rep. Liz Cheney, Senator Lindsay Graham, Senator John McCain, and more conservative politicians, as well as several Fox News contributors, all admonished the president for taking Putin at his word regarding the election interference. _This_ [_article_](http://ew.com/movies/2018/07/17/arnold-schwarzenegger-trump-wet-noodle-putin-conference/) _originally appeared on_ [_ew.com_](http://ew.com)_._ ## Transcript [00:00] President Trump, I just saw your press conference with [00:03] President Putin and it was embarrassing, I mean you stood [00:06] that like a little white noodle, like a little fan [00:10] boy, I mean I was asking myself, when he gonna ask him [00:13] for an autograph, or for a selfie, or something like that. I [00:16] mean, you literally sold out the press conference Our [00:19] intelligence community, our justice system, and worst of all, [00:22] our country. You're the President of the United States, you [00:25] shouldn't do that, and what's the matter with you? I mean, [00:28] whatever happened to the strong words or to the strength [00:32] of Ronald Reagan? I mean, he stood there at the Berlin [00:34] Wall, and he said, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. [00:39] What happened to old art? [ BLANK_AUDIO ]. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5340647/donald-trump-arnold-schwarzenegger-little-wet-noodle/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5340647/donald-trump-arnold-schwarzenegger-little-wet-noodle/"},"headline":"'Like a Little Wet Noodle.' 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