Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a poignant rebuke Donald Trump on Sunday, comparing the riot at the U.S. Capitol that the president incited Kristallnacht, the night of November 1938 when Nazi thugs attacked German Jews and their properties, a harbinger of the horrors to come.
He also compared American democracy to a weapon he wielded on the screen like Conan the Barbarian almost 40 years ago, saying: “Our democracy is like the steel of that sword. The more seasoned it is, the stronger it becomes. “
Inside a video posted on social media and punctuated by exciting classical music, the 73-year-old former Republican governor of California said he “would like to say a few words to my fellow Americans and our friends around the world about the events of the past few days.”
“I grew up in Austria and knew Kristallnacht very well, or Broken Glass Night,” he said. “It was a night of violence against Jews carried out [by] the Nazi equivalent of the Proud Boys [a quasi-fascist group of Trump supporters]. “
“Wednesday was Broken Glass Day right here in the United States. The broken glass was in the windows of the United States Capitol. But the crowd didn’t just break the Capitol’s windows. He destroyed the ideals that we considered to be guaranteed. They didn’t just knock down the doors of the building that housed American democracy. They stepped on the very principles on which our country was founded. “
Five people died as a result of the Capitol coup, one policeman allegedly hit with a fire extinguisher and the other a rioter shot by police. On Sunday, it was reported that another officer had died, although it was not immediately clear whether the death was related to the Capitol riot.
Trump will step down on January 20, having failed to undo his defeat in the elections for Joe Biden, which is why he told the crowd to “fight like hell”. He faces appeals to resign and a possible second impeachment.
Schwarzenegger described a traumatic childhood in postwar Austria, the son of a former member of the Nazi party.
“I saw firsthand how things can get out of hand,” he said. “I know that there is a fear in this country and around the world that something like this could happen right here. I don’t believe it is.
“But I believe that we must be aware of the terrible consequences of selfishness and cynicism. President Trump sought to overturn the results of an election. And a fair election. He sought a coup by deceiving people with lies. My father and our neighbors were also deceived with lies. I know where these lies lead.
“President Trump is a failed leader. He will go down in history as the worst president ever. The good news is that it will soon be as irrelevant as an old tweet. “
Schwarzenegger appealed to Americans’ patriotism and praised legislators who met after the attack on the Capitol to confirm Joe Biden’s victory, despite objections from 147 Republican deputies and senators.
He then took a sword that he said was used when he played Conan the Barbarian in two fantasy films from the early 1980s.
“Here’s the thing about swords,” he said. “The more you season a sword, the stronger it becomes. The more you hit it with a hammer and then you heat it up in the fire and then you throw it in the cold water and hit it again … the more you do it, the stronger it gets.
“I’m not saying that because you have become a sword expert. But our democracy is like the steel of that sword. The more seasoned it is, the stronger it becomes. “
Concluding by wishing Biden the best, Schwarzenegger said: “Those who think they can overthrow the United States constitution know this. You will never win. “
Banned on Twitter, without official duties during the day and with the White House pool reporter sent home before noon, Trump did not respond immediately.