Arnold Schwarzenegger Is No Longer the Governor of California. Right?

Amid a pandemic and a recall, Mr. Schwarzenegger has been in demand at his Los Angeles mansion, embracing his unlikely role as California’s “elderly statesman.”

LOS ANGELES — Arnold Schwarzenegger settled into a big leather rocker recliner on the back patio of his mansion. His tiny rescue dog, Cherry, scampered at his feet, wearing a butterfly bow. On his lawn, his miniature donkey, Lulu, was making a break for the hedges. His miniature horse, Whiskey, loitered near a marble bust of Abraham Lincoln. His bar held a dollhouse-size replica of the tank he had driven during a stint in the Austrian Army. A biofuel Hummer was in the driveway. A nine-foot scale model of the Statue of Liberty stood in the foyer. Things were either very large or very small. Here is where Mr. Schwarzenegger has been holding court in person ever since he went to Dodger Stadium in January to get vaccinated, an event that has been viewed 20 million times on social media. People clamor to get penciled in for a back-patio visit — not just the usual show business people, but also political consultants, talk show hosts and people trying to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom.