Arnold Schwarzenegger Sends Message to America After Capitol Riot, Brands Donald Trump 'Failed Leader'

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger compared the violent riot from pro-Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol to the rise of Nazi Germany in a lengthy video Sunday morning. Schwarzenegger, a longtime critic of President Donald Trump, called Wednesday the "Day of Broken Glass" in the U.S., referring to Kristallnacht, the night when Nazi troopers smashed Jewish-owned businesses and an estimated 91 Jews were killed in 1938. Schwarzenegger also criticized members of the Republican party who continued spreading Trump's lies about the 2020 November election being "stolen" from him.

"We need to heal, together, from the drama of what has just happened," Schwarzenegger said in the seven-and-a-half-minute video. "We need to heal, not as Republicans or as Democrats, but as Americans." The Terminator actor then recalled his childhood in Austria after World War II ended. Schwarzenegger was born after the war ended, but his father served as a Nazi. He recalled the impact of Kristallnacht, which he called a "night of rampage against the Jews carried out in 1938 by the Nazi equivalent of the Proud Boys."

"Wednesday was the Day of Broken Glass right here in the United States," Schwarzenegger continued. "But the mob did not just shatter the windows of the Capitol. They shattered the ideas we took for granted… [and] trampled the very principles on which our country was founded." Schwarzenegger then turned his attention to Trump, whom Schwarzenegger said "sought to overturn the results of an election, of a fair election" and "sought a coup by misleading people with lies." He noted that his father was "misled also with lies, and I know where such lies lead."

Trump is a "failed leader," Schwarzenegger said. "He will go down in history as the worst President ever. The good thing is he will soon be as irrelevant as an old tweet." Although he did not specifically name Republican members, he said those who supported Trump's efforts to overturn the election were "spineless" and "complicit" with the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol.

Later, Schwarzenegger compared the U.S. democracy to a sword, similar to the one he used in Conan the Barbarian, which he happened to have on his desk. He noted the coup did not immediately work and "our democracy held firm." It was "like the steel of this sword... The more it is tempered, the stronger it becomes."

At the end of his message, Schwarzenegger showed his support for President-elect Joe Biden, whose victory was eventually certified by Congress in the early morning hours on Thursday. "President-elect Biden, we wish you great success as our President. If you succeed, our nation succeeds. We support you with all our hearts as you seek to bring us together," the actor said. "And to those who think they can overturn the United States Constitution, know this... You will never win."