When Arnold Schwarzenegger Criticized Donald Trump, Called Him The 'Worst President Ever'

Capitol Riots shook the whole of America and Arnold Schwarzenneger was among those celebrities who openly condemned the 2021 attack. In a lengthy video message on X, formerly Twitter, the Commando actor called former President Donald Trump "a failed leader." 

Denouncing the Republican candidate, the now 76-year-old began, "As an immigrant to this country, I would like to say a few words to my fellow Americans." Notably, the actor was born in Austria and moved to the United States at 21 (in 1968), starting out as a bodybuilder who went on to win titles of Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia, leading his way into Hollywood.  

He continued, "I grew up in Austria; I'm very aware of Kristallnacht or the 'Night of Broken Glass.' It was a night of rampage against the Jews carried out in 1938 by the Nazi equivalent of the proud boys," comparing the 2021 Capitol Riots to Nazi Germany, per PEOPLE. "Wednesday was the day of broken glass right here in the United States." 

Schwarzenneger recalled his suffering, "I grew up in the ruins of a country that suffered the loss of its democracy. I was born in 1947, two years after the Second World War. Growing up, I was surrounded by broken men drinking away their guilt over their participation in the most evil regime in history." 

He also shared that his own father "would come home drunk once or twice a week, and he would scream, and hit us and scare my mother." Then the former governor of California blamed Trump for the rampage, accusing him of "misleading people with lies" about the alleged election fraud. 

"My father and our neighbors were misled also with lies, and I know where such lies lead," declaring, "President Trump is a failed leader. 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." Schwarzenneger also called out those officials who remained complicit through it all. 

The Terminator alum urged people to save the American democracy collectively, "We need to look past ourselves, our partisan disagreements and put our democracy first. We need to heal, not just as Republicans and Democrats, but as Americans." He concluded by wishing well to POTUS Joe Biden, "President-elect Biden, we stand with you today, tomorrow, and forever in defense of our democracy from those who would threaten it. 

In an interview to discuss his book Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, the actor said, "It was one of those things I never dreamed of, to be a motivational speaker, or to write motivational books, because when I grew up all I wished was just to be the most muscular man in the world." 

In the same interview, Schwarzenneger said, "I feel like I would make a great president," per BBC. "But I feel that, at the same time, everything I've accomplished was because of America. America gave me so many opportunities, and the American people were so embracive, and they just received me with open arms." 

"So the only thing that I can't do, which is run for president, I'm not going to complain about that," he concluded.