Jack Kemp to Schwarzenegger: ‘Let’s wrestle!’

Former Rep. Jack Kemp once welcomed Arnold Schwarzenegger to his congressional office by lying down on the floor and inviting him to wrestle.

The life of the New York Republican and 1996 vice presidential candidate, who died in 2009 at age 73, is detailed in “Jack Kemp: The Bleeding-Heart Conservative who Changed America,” by Weekly Standard co-founder Fred Barnes and political commentator Morton Kondracke.

{mosads}Kemp, a former NFL quarterback, served nine terms in the House.

“One of the oddest visits ever was from future California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, movie star and body builder,” the authors write, citing an interview with Dave Hoppe, Kemp’s chief of staff during his 1988 presidential bid.

“ ‘Kemp was eager to meet the Terminator, but had to be on the House floor when he arrived. Heading back to the office,’ Hoppe said, ‘You could tell he was excited. His whole body shook as he walked back.’ ”

Kemp “burst” through the door to find Schwarzenegger already in his office.

“Jack throws down his jacket and lays down on the floor and says, ‘Schwarzenegger, let’s wrestle!’ ”

The action star was “dumbfounded” by the invitation to a playful tussle.

“The Arnold was not biting,” Hoppe recounts, “so finally Jack got up and shook his hand. It was the strangest meeting I’ve ever seen in my life. But it was quintessentially Jack.”

The book comes out Tuesday.