Arnold Schwarzenegger Admonishes Trump

Arnold Schwarzenegger Compares US Capitol Riot to Kristallnacht

In a video posted to social media on Sunday, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger condemned the riot at the US Capitol and compared it to Kristallnacht, a night in November 1938 when Nazi thugs attacked Jewish Germans and their property. The riot, which President Donald Trump incited, led to the death of five people, including a Capitol police officer and a rioter shot by law enforcement. The rioters, who were supporters of President Trump, broke into the Capitol after he told them to “fight like hell” in support of his attempt to overturn the election defeat by Joe Biden.

Schwarzenegger, who grew up in Austria and was very aware of Kristallnacht, said in the video that Wednesday’s riot was the “Day of Broken Glass” right in the United States. He stated that the mob did not just shatter the windows of the Capitol but also shattered the ideals Americans took for granted. He warned that such events can spin out of control and urged Americans to be aware of the dire consequences of selfishness and cynicism. Schwarzenegger also commended lawmakers who regathered after the assault on the Capitol to confirm Biden’s victory, despite objections from 147 Republican representatives and senators.

Schwarzenegger is a Republican and has clashed with Trump before. He described Trump as a failed leader and claimed he would go down in history as the worst president ever. He appealed to Americans’ patriotism and compared American democracy to the steel of a sword, saying that the more it is tempered, the stronger it becomes. He wished President-elect Joe Biden well and warned those who think they can overturn the US Constitution that they would never win.

Trump, who will leave office on January 20, now faces a second impeachment.