News Max | Antonio Sabato Jr

With a Hollywood and modeling career that has spanned nearly three decades, Antonio Sabato Jr. is now making a run at elected office. The 46-year-old Italian-American started out as a Calvin Klein underwear model and was a star on “General Hospital” before going on to become a successful actor and a household name.

Now, Sabato is running for Congress as a Republican in California's 26^th district, which includes most of Ventura County near Los Angeles. He’ll be taking on incumbent Democrat Julia Brownley. He is a true rarity; A conservative who endorsed Donald Trump in the 2016 election, he has been open about the blowback he’s faced for his political views.

Here, Newsmax spends five minutes with Sabato to talk to talk Trump, politics, movies, and more.

Newsmax: What inspired you to run for office?

Antonio Sabato Jr.: I love my country and I believe the American people have been taken advantage of for a very long time. I believe that I can do a lot for my community to ensure that the people of my community, that the farmers, everyone else included, is taken care of, is respected.

That’s what I’m fighting for, because Sacramento policy, the legislature, the corruption that is going on there is getting out of hand. The liberal Democrats who have been running the state for 30 years have quite destroyed it and I don’t want anything to happen to my community.

My opponent, Julia Brownley out of Santa Monica, she has damaging policies . . . like [California] AB 109 that are endangering our communities and endangering our people and so I need to do something about it. We need to bring respect, integrity into Congress’ office, and I believe I’m the man for the job [who] cares.

I’ve been very good in business for myself, I’ve been an entrepreneur in business and done pretty well in this country since 1985, so I think I can bring a lot of enthusiasm, smarter moves, and common sense and help the veterans, which I’m fighting extremely hard on, and making sure that we have law and order and regulation for business to come back to my community and thrive.

These politicians in Sacramento, they’re damaging the economy as far as businesses and regulations and overtaxing everyone. I’ll come in strong to make sure that we don’t allow my community to perish.  

NM: You once considered yourself a Democrat. What triggered your embrace of conservatism?

AS: I never considered myself a Democrat or Republican. I consider myself an American. I would love to meet a Democrat who’s actually a Democrat. I think the liberal Democrats have taken over. There are so few left it’s hard to see them with any policies in conjunction with anything democratic because everything is liberal and everything is socialist.

I believe that’s changed. I love presidents like JFK. I love the fact that the Democratic Party was, at one point, straightforward. Right now, the liberal and socialist policies, I’m not for that. We live in the greatest country in the world. I believe in the Constitution, all our beautiful 27 amendments. I am here to fight for America; I’m not here to fight for a specific party.

NM: What is the biggest misunderstanding people have of President Donald Trump?

AS: I think he’s changed so much and done so well. I think his policies have done so well for the country and the world. We’ve seen things that have never been done before: the deal with North Korea, the appointment of judges, the Syrian situation. Now we’re going back and hopefully destroying the Iranian Deal, which is the worst deal America has ever made. We’re pro-Israel and we’re pro-military and pro-law enforcement. There’s lower regulation and lower taxes. The tax cut is amazing and I think a year from now you’re going to see that. American families already have gained so much from it . . . money that they’ve never seen before comes back into their account.

So, in a year and a half, it’s a lot of work for the president and the administration, but you’ve got to say that they broke some records. They’re doing pretty well.

NM: Why does Hollywood hate Donald Trump?

AS: I think they love the idea. They’ve loved the man for so long. They’re very hypocritical about it. Before he decided to put his name in to run, he was loved by everyone. Everyone wanted to be associated with him. Everyone wanted to work with him, and have some sort of business with him or say that they were involved with him. Now all of a sudden they’re not because he’s speaking the truth and cares about the country.

They don’t like to lose and they will keep this grudge for the rest of their lives. I hope that, in time, people are waking up, and I think they are. They see the changes, they see the president is trying extremely hard to put America back on track, and it takes a lot of work, but you see both parties against him, surrounded by snakes in Washington. We need people to go to Washington and back this president up. We need to have both Houses succeeding . . . We need to win as many seats as possible for the Republican Party.

There’s a dark cloud in the political world that wants to take this president out in any way, shape, or form, with no facts whatsoever, so we’ve got to fight for what is right. I think he’s doing a great job in that department. We just need to get back to the roots of helping people, helping the communities, helping the country and not keep dividing the country like they always do.

The American people have woken up. They’ve elected this president. This midterm election will showcase a lot of available seats in California, giving them a chance, like in my county, which I’m very excited about.

NM: What was your favorite acting role?

AS: I’ve done a TV show called “Earth 2” with Steven Spielberg that I enjoyed doing in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “Melrose Place,” working with Aaron Spelling was amazing, and Heather Locklear was great. Working on “Dancing With the Stars” was phenomenal. That was a lot of fun. I have a movie coming out called “One Nation Under God.” It’s a feature film that . . . I’m really proud of. I’m also working on "Hilton Head Island," a faith-based soap opera which is now available on digital through PureFlix.com.

Every project is different . . . I’ve been doing it for 30 years. It’s a blessing to be in this business for so long. [The roles are] all very special to me, in one way or another.

NM: You and your family immigrated to the United States from Italy when you were a boy. Do you agree with the president’s tough immigration policies?

AS: Absolutely, because I came to this country legally. I had to wait in line with my family for a long time. We had to come up with resources to make sure that we were able to pay for the green card. [We] came to this country, had to pay our dues, go through the process legally. We never took a dime from any welfare, any programs whatsoever. My parents had two jobs at the same time. We went to school, me and my sister, to search for a better future.

So yes, we need to have the order. We need to have laws, which we do have in place, and we have to follow the law. There’s a difference between an immigrant who is here legally and an immigrant who is coming here illegally and taking advantage of all these . . . programs that the American people have to pay for. We need be tougher on law and order, tougher on our border. We can’t let people in that we don’t know anything about just because we want to be nice. What about people around the world? What about people from Italy that are waiting to come to this country? Are they supposed to be first in line or are they just going to be last in line because we allow everyone else at our Mexican border to come in? It’s just not fair. We need to follow the law. We need to really revamp this immigration system that’s not working . . . we need to do a lot better. We need to protect the American people first and foremost.

NM: Who do you want to be like “when you grow up”?

AS: I want to be like Batman [laughs]. I want to be like my mother; I have great respect for my mom. I have athletes that I enjoyed watching, like Michael Jordan, and I want to be like them. I want to be like Mike. Just a positive role model with hard work, no excuses, and someone that loves this country more than anything.

NM: If elected to Congress, what is the first thing you want done?

AS: I’m going to be really intensely working with the VA. I’m going to be really involved in law and order. My main three issues are the veterans, regulations and taxes — my farmers especially — and law and order, making sure the police force has all the tools necessary to do their jobs. Which means also repealing and replacing [California] AB 109 prisoner early release, which I’m going to do in Washington, D.C., I’m going to do it here, whatever I can to help get rid of AB 109. Which, by the way, my opponent Julia Brownley, built in the Assembly before she became a congresswoman. Those are dangerous policies that are affecting California all over and we need to get rid of those things.

NM: Tell us about Antonio’s fun time when you’re not acting or politicking.

AS: Whenever I have a few minutes to myself, I enjoy training, working out, jiu jitsu, spending time with my kids, going for a motorcycle ride. Right now, time is of essence. I don’t have much time for myself at all but when I do, I like to go out and spend time with my family, my kids, my loved ones. Take hikes, there’re beautiful hikes in Ventura County. I like to do those and go to the beach . . . But we’ll worry about that after the election is over.

NM: What is your favorite restaurant?

AS: I like anything Italian or Mexican . . . There are just so many to mention. I have one in Westlake Village. It’s called Farfalla, it’s “butterfly” in Italian. That’s a place that I enjoy going to.

NM: What is your favorite film of all time and why?

AS: That would have to be “Braveheart.” Mel Gibson in “Braveheart” is one of my favorites.

NM: What’s the best piece of advice your parents ever gave you?

AS: Work so hard and train in something so hard that they can’t say no because you’re too good. That’s the kind of model that I’ve always had — work hard, train, study, whatever you put your heart into, just do it 100 percent and never make any excuses.

NM: How are you passing your Italian heritage on to your kids?

AS: I speak Italian, I cook Italian food. My parents and I speak Italian to each other, as well as my sister. My daughter has been to Italy several times . . . I think it’s very important to have the Italian heritage there. The Latino heritage that I have, it’s part of my life and part of my kids’ lives.

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