Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is in trouble, but for the strangest of reasons.

The drama started Tuesday when Schwarzenegger posted a video to Twitter showing him filling in an ostensible giant pothole in a Los Angeles community.

Watch:

Today, after the whole neighborhood has been upset about this giant pothole that’s been screwing up cars and bicycles for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it. I always say, let’s not complain, let’s do something about it. Here you go. pic.twitter.com/aslhkUShvT

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) April 11, 2023

Seems like a nice deed, no?

And indeed, in the video above a motorist stops by to thank Schwarzenegger.

Plus, the deed has prompted massive praise for him from social media. Granted, it has also prompted massive criticism for the city.

Look:

Arnold @Schwarzenegger is the man!

— AustinWestmoore (@SirWestmoore) April 13, 2023

Arnold is a very good man. In many ways. God bless him!

— JSowell879 (@JSowell879) April 12, 2023

Arnold used to be a bricklayer when he first came to America. The Legend was a hard worker before he got famous.

— Keith Frank (@KeithFrank31) April 12, 2023

Why doesn’t the state go & hire some of the homeless people & give them a job filling all the potholes ? It would help them & fix the issues !

— MustangMomma (@MustangMommie) April 12, 2023

The governor shouldn’t be having to do that. Cal Trans So Cal or whatever should be doing this. And since L.A. has a new mayor with Mayor Bass? I would think that she would make this a priority since my hometown has numerous potholes on many streets.

— MIKE TURTLE AKA MR. TURTLE (HORNY ORNERY TURTLE) (@miketurtlexxx) April 12, 2023

But there’s reportedly one major problem.

The city claims the pothole wasn’t actually a pothole. Huh?

“This location is not a pothole. It’s a service trench that relates to active, permitted work being performed at the location by SoCal Gas, who expects the work to be completed by the end of May,” a city spokesperson told local station KNBC.

“As is the case with similar projects impacting City streets, SoCal Gas will be required to repair the area once their work is completed,” the spokesperson added.

Whoops?

Except now there’s another problem. A report from the Los Angeles Times contradicts some of what the city spokesperson said.

“SoCalGas crews completed an upgrade on a pipeline at the end of January and ‘applied temporary paving over the excavation,’ the utility company said in a statement,” the paper reported Tuesday.

“Typically, SoCalGas applies permanent paving within about 30 days of the project completion, but the schedule was delayed due to the rain, according to the statement, which said paving should be complete by the end of the week,” the Times added.

Schwarzenegger’s spokesperson, Daniel Ketchell, was quick to take note of this discrepancy.

“You shouldn’t just take the active service trench thing as gospel, since the city later changed their story to say the work was done in January,” he told Newsweek.

He later repeated his point on Twitter:

It’s always important to take bureaucratic damage control with a grain of salt. First, they implied @schwarzenegger paved over active gas work that would finish at the end of May. Then, the truth came out: the gas work was done in January (and the timeline for paving sped up). pic.twitter.com/37jCGFx85L

— Daniel Ketchell (@ketch) April 13, 2023

And to be clear, this wasn’t a political thing for @Schwarzenegger. He didn’t blame the mayor, who he knows has only been in office for a few months and is trying to hire more street workers right now. He just wanted to show it’s possible to get things done quickly.

— Daniel Ketchell (@ketch) April 13, 2023

He also spoke with the Times.

“Schwarzenegger intended to fix a problem he saw in his neighborhood, Ketchell said, but if his actions brought attention to needed road repairs then that’s a positive development,” according to the Times.

Schwarzenegger “isn’t attacking any city officials. He knows how much work Mayor Karen Bass has. This is more of a reminder that these things can be done quickly,” he added.

Dovetailing back to Newsweek, Ketchell also told the magazine that Schwarzenegger “doesn’t regret” filling in the pothole.

“So if the work was finished in January, they’d already left the trench as a threat to cars and bicycles for four months and apparently planned on leaving it for another two. Of course he doesn’t regret it,” he said.

Asked whether Schwarzenegger would pay to redo the paving if requested by the city, he said, “We don’t like to solve problems that haven’t happened yet.”

Despite Schwarzenegger mostly being praised for what he did, he does have some haters. But who doesn’t?

Look:

We have health and safety laws for a reason. Try doing this on a busy road.

— Underscore Gav (@UnderscoreGav) April 13, 2023

Isn’t this why the people in that city pay taxes? You let the city off the hook from their damn job of providing infrastructure, setting a terrible precedent.

— SM Kelly (@SMKLLY77) April 12, 2023

He filled one pot hole in his rich neighborhood. Jimmy Carter spent a lifetime building houses, but gets a fraction of the credit.

— colorado kid (@YesMrGilbert) April 13, 2023

• About
• Latest Posts

Vivek Saxena

Senior Staff Writer
Vivek@bizpacreview.com

V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

Latest posts by Vivek Saxena (see all)

• Mammoth teacher’s union, NEA shoveling some of the worst woke garbage in history - December 18, 2025
• Vanity Fair’s extreme photo of Karoline Leavitt is shameful by any standard - December 18, 2025
• Middle school celebrates ‘Transgender Awareness Week’ with lessons on binding body parts - December 9, 2025

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.