Days after the domestic terrorist incident at the United States Capitol, Arnold Schwarzenegger has gone viral tenfold for hopping back into his Conan role for just a moment. In a heartfelt video shared Sunday morning, the former Governor of California (R) pleaded for Americans to come together — comparing our democratic republic to the sword he used during the production of Conan the Barbarian.
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In the video, Schwarzenegger reminds viewers that the sword’s blade only gets stronger each time the metal is folded in on itself and forged in the fire. As of this writing, the video has been retweeted over 335,000 times.
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
“Here’s the thing about swords,” Schwarzenegger says in the video. “The more you temper a sword, the stronger it becomes. The more you pound it with a hammer and then heat it in the fire, and then thrust it into the cold water and then pound it again … the more often you do that, the stronger it becomes.”
He adds, “I’m not telling you this because you become an expert swordmaker. But our democracy is like the steel of this sword. The more it is tempered, the stronger it becomes.”
No stranger to politics, Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California for two full terms from 2003 to 2011. He’s the last Republican to have served in the role. Shortly after the insurrection took place on Capitol Hill, many tech giants started to ban President Donald Trump from their services, including a permanent ban from Twitter and an indefinite Twitch suspension.
“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,” Schwarzenegger says in the video.
“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.”
