Watch: Emotional Arnie compares pro-Trump Capitol rioters to Nazis on Kristallnacht
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Arnold Schwarzenegger has condemned Donald Trump as “the worst president ever”, comparing his supporters who invaded the US Capitol to Nazis on Kristallnacht.
In an emotional video shared on his social media accounts, the Austrian-born Terminator star recalled the ‘Night of Broken Glass’, which took place in 1938 in Germany. Mobs of Nazi supporters laid seige to Jewish neighborhoods, destroyed buisnesses and synagogues and killed nearly 100 Jews in the process.
Schwarzenegger called the perpetrators of Kristallnacht “the Nazi equivalent of The Proud Boys” – a far-right, neo-facist white nationalist group who Trump infamously instructed to “stand back and stand by” during a presidential debate last year. Members of the extremist group were arrested after storming the Capitol last week.
“Wednesday was the day of broken glass right here in the United States,” Schwarzenegger said.
“The broken glass was in the windows of the United States Capitol. But the mob did not just shatter the windows of the Capitol. They shattered the ideals we took for granted. They did not just break down the doors of the building that housed American democracy. They trampled the very principles on which our country was founded.”
Watch: Emotional Arnie compares pro-Trump Capitol rioters to Nazis on Kristallnacht
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The former Governor of California recalled growing up in postwar Austria, “surrounded by broken men drinking away their guilt with their participation in the most evil regime in history,” referring to Hitler’s Nazi dictatorship.
“Not all of them were rabid anti-Semites or Nazis. Many just went along step-by-step down the road. They were the people next door.”
Schwarzenegger shared the “painful memory” of his father coming home drunk and hitting his children and scaring his wife – behaviour he said was common amongst the men in his area.
“It all started with lies and lies and lies, and intolerance. Being from Europe I’ve seen firsthand how things can spin out of control… we must be aware of the dire consequences of selfishness and cynicism.”
Schwarzenegger blasted Trump as a “failed leader”, saying he would go down in history as “the worst president ever”; but would soon be “as irrelevant as an old tweet”.
The Hollywood actor concluded by drawing the sword from his role as Conan the Barbarian, using it as a metaphor for democracy.
“The more you temper a sword, the stronger it becomes… I’m not telling you all this because I want you to become an expert sword maker, but our democracy is like the steel of this sword. The more it is tempered, the stronger it becomes.”
Finally, Schwarzenegger addressed Trump supporters directly.
“To those who think they can overturn the United States Constitution, know this: You will never win.”