Former Republican governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger lambasted US President Donald Trump on Sunday, comparing last week's Capitol riots staged by his supporters to Kristallnacht – the November 1938 night pogrom in which thousands of Jewish buildings were destroyed and some 30,000 Jewish men were arrested in what historians regard as the harbinger to the Holocaust.
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As a two-term governor, the US movie star-turned-politician maintains a presence and a voice in Republican politics and has clashed with Trump before.
On Sunday, in a video posted to social media, the 73-year-old said, "I grew up in Austria and was very aware of Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass. It was a night of rampage against the Jews carried out [by] the Nazi equivalent of the Proud Boys," he noted, naming the far-right group known as Trump supporters.
My message to my fellow Americans and friends around the world following this week's attack on the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/blOy35LWJ5
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 10, 2021
"Wednesday was the Day of Broken Glass right here in the United States. The broken glass was in the windows of the United States Capitol. But the mob did not just shatter the windows of the Capitol. It has 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."
Schwarzenegger, who grew up in post-WWII Austria as the son of a police officer who joined the Nazi party, said, "I have seen firsthand how things can spin out of control. I know there is a fear in this country and all over the world that something like this could happen right here. I do not believe it is.
"But I do believe that we must be aware of the dire consequences of selfishness and cynicism. President Trump sought to overturn the results of an election. And a fair election. He sought a coup by misleading people with lies. My father and our neighbors were misled also with lies. I know where such lies lead.
"President Trump is a failed leader. He will go down in history as the worst president ever. "President Trump sought to overturn the results of an election, and of a free election, he sought a coup by misleading people with lies," Schwarzenegger blasted.
"I know where such lies lead. President Trump is a failed leader. He will go down in history as the worst president ever. The good thing is he soon will be as irrelevant as an old tweet."
Schwarzenegger further urged fellow Republicans to shun Trump and given the events in Washington, to support Biden. "We need public servants who will serve higher ideals," he said.
Wishing the president-elect well, Schwarzenegger said: "Those who think they can overturn the United States constitution, know this. You will never win."
Banned by Twitter and Facebook, Trump did not immediately respond.
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