Hollywood star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger likened the US Capitol attack by Donald Trump supporters to the ‘Night of Broken Glass’, a pogrom carried out by Nazis against Jews in Germany in 1938.
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Also called ‘the November Pogrom’, the episode included breaking the windows of Jewish-owned stores. “My father and our neighbors were misled also with lies, and I know where such lies lead,” Schwarzenegger said, suggesting that his father was a Nazi, AFP reported.
Calling President Trump a “failed leader”, the Terminator-fame actor said, “He will go down in history as the worst president ever”.
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
Interestingly, an opinion poll had revealed American voters’ perception about Trump last month, with 42% saying that history would remember him as one of the worst presidents ever. According to CNN, “no president has garnered as many strongly negative feelings as Trump”. George W. Bush came pretty close to getting negative voting in a Gallup poll in which 36% of Americans said he would go down as a “poor” president.
Is Trump the most hated US president ever? Hard to say, because the opinion that is seen on social media or viewed on TV reflects the views of the media analysts, working professionals, or the media-savvy university grads, which does not necessarily represent the true voter sentiment. Nonetheless, there were events and episodes involving Trump in the past that were not becoming of a US President.
Diplomacy – What’s That?
Foreign policy experts were left baffled over Trump’s brash and uncouth style of working in the diplomatic domain. The most cited episode was his rude phone call to then-French President Francois Hollande in January 2017.
During his phone call, Trump discussed important matters, including the fight against ISIS with Hollande, but soon he went berserk by stating France can continue protecting NATO, but that the US “wants our money back”, Politico reported quoting an official in the Trump administration.
What prompted that sudden change of behavior in the business tycoon-turned-the world’s ‘most powerful leader’? It looked like Trump believed that Washington was being “taken advantage of by China and by international bodies like NATO”.
The businessman in Trump might have prompted him into thinking that the US had spent too much on the fight against terror, and China was posing trade hurdles, but these matters should not be on the agenda of a diplomatic discussion with a country like France, one of the key allies of Washington.
Trump’s K-word Caused Trouble
In 2019, Trump had caused a huge embarrassment for his State Department by his unwarranted remark on Kashmir. He had claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to meditate on the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan, drawing a strong rebuttal from New Delhi.
Seeking to clarify the US’ stand, the State Department tweeted, “While Kashmir is a bilateral issue for both parties to discuss, the Trump administration welcomes Pakistan and India sitting down and the United States stands ready to assist.”
While Kashmir is a bilateral issue for both parties to discuss, the Trump administration welcomes #Pakistan and #India sitting down and the United States stands ready to assist. – AGW
— State_SCA (@State_SCA) July 22, 2019
So much so that Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman apologized to then-Indian ambassador to the US Harsh Shringla over Trump’s claim calling it “amateurish”, “delusional” and “embarrassing”.
‘Climate Change’ But Trump Won’t Change
Trump’s take on climate change is not only hilarious and but something that defies science. First of all, his adamant position that climate change is a “hoax” makes him look like an alien. And then there is his infamous quote to The Washington Post that he is “not a big believer in man-made climate change”.
Trump had withdrawn from the Paris Accord in 2017, during his first year in the White House. Almost the entire world agreed to work together to reduce man-made greenhouse emissions that fuelled the climate crisis. The nations across the globe recognized the gravest threat of global warming and how it could have more catastrophic consequences if not tackled on war-footing.
However, Trump chose to swim against the tide and scrapped the Obama-era ‘Clean Power Plan’ that sought to curb pollution caused by power plants. He also rolled back 100 environmental rules, The Independent reported. Climate scientists and activists fear that such a move would give a free run to the oil and gas industry at the cost of the environment.
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