Hollywood action star and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been quietly lobbying key politicos for a legal loophole or a constitutional change that would clear the path for him to run for president in 2016.

If allowed, Mr. Schwarzenegger would face off against Hillary Rodham Clinton, The New York Post reported.

“Schwarzenegger has been talking openly about working on getting the constitutional rules changed so he can run for president in 2016,” a source said, The Post reported. “He is ready to file legal paperwork to challenge the rules.”

The actor was born in Austria, making him ineligible to seek the high office. The Constitution states plainly that one of the requirements for a U.S. president is to be a natural born citizen. Section One Article Two states: “No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of president.”

The loophole language could be the definition of “natural born citizen,” legal minds have argued. Columbia University Law School professor Michael Dorf said, The Post reported: “The law is very clear, but it’s not 100 percent clear that the courts would enforce that law rather than leave it to the political process.”

Meanwhile, there’s little doubt that the Hollywood icon would run if he could. Mr. Schwarzenegger became a legal U.S. citizen in 1983, and in 2010 he was asked during a “Tonight Show” appearance if he would seek the presidency if law allowed. His answer: “Without any doubt.”

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.