Schwarzenegger lays into anti-maskers: 'Screw your freedom'

Arnold Schwarzenegger says "Hasta la vista" to anti-maskers as COVID-19 regulations return amid the Delta variant.

The "Terminator" film icon and former governor of California spoke via YouTube Wednesday to urge "schmucks" to follow the rules and get vaccinated to "protect your fellow Americans."

"There is a virus here — it kills people," Schwarzenegger said, "and the only way we prevent it is get vaccinated, get masks, do social distancing, washing your hands all the time, and not just to think about 'Well, my freedom is being kind of disturbed here.' No, screw your freedom."

The 74-year-old actor was part of a panel with CNN's Alex Vindman and Bianna Golodryga to discuss misinformation and COVID-19 policy.

Comment: Why the heck is Ukraine corruption enabler and impeachment weasel Vindman being trotted out for here? And what possible use is a talking head "Russian analyst" when discussing a medical story?

"Yeah, you have the freedom to wear no mask — but you know something?" Schwarzenegger continued. "You're a schmuck for not wearing a mask. You are supposed to protect your fellow Americans around you."

Arnold Schwarzenegger said people who are worried about their "freedom" should care about how their actions affect others.Instagram

He also used his experience as a bodybuilder to make his case to trust modern medicine: "There's no one that knows more about a bicep than I do because I studied this issue for 50 years and the same is also with the virus. The people out there, the experts, they study this year after year after year."

Comment: 'Ahnald' clearly missed the chapters on basic human immunology.

He also demanded that Americans respect experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci and follow guidelines that he and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention implement.

"We put the traffic light at the intersection so someone doesn't kill someone else by accident," Schwarzenegger said. "You cannot say, 'No one is going tell me that I'm going to stop here at this traffic light here, I'm going to go right through it.' Yeah, then you kill someone else and then it is your doing."

This is not the first time Schwarzenegger has jumped back into politics this year.

In January, he — speaking as a proud immigrant — addressed the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection on his YouTube channel and Twitter account, comparing modern-day Proud Boys to Nazis.

That same month, Schwarzenegger posted a video getting the COVID-19 vaccine to encourage his followers to get a dose of their own, and in July spoke on environmental issues at the Australian World Summit.

Reader Comments

StarDam · 2021-08-12T20:05:30Z

Maybe Arnie believes that, after an Indokenyan president and soon-to-be Jamaicanadian president, the US is ripe for an Austrian president. I mean, it worked so well for Germany, so why not?

ReRan · 2021-08-12T21:19:48Z

Who the hell cares what that man thinks?

sottreader · 2021-08-12T21:40:23Z

Arnie has become the poster child of all the athletes who demonstrate the tragedy that can befall those who concentrate almost exclusively on the development of the physical aspects of the human body and ignore the development of what lies between the ears, most importantly, development of critical thinking skills.

And, yet, on a proportional basis, it is such athletes and other celebrity types who are most intent on lecturing everyone else about all sorts of societal issues. And, worse yet, a large fraction of the population willingly allows itself to be influenced by what these cretins have to say.

Given the surfeit of sheer idiocy in both the general population and in the governing/influencing classes, the American people fully deserve the dire consequences that will accompany the fast-approaching breakdown of the nation. Hang on tight - it's gonna be a wild ride!!

slbeaudry · 2021-08-12T22:41:39Z

sottreader same to the British 😉

Given the surfeit of sheer idiocy in both the general population and in the governing/influencing classes, the ~~American~~ British people fully deserve the dire consequences that will accompany the fast-approaching breakdown of the nation. Hang on tight - it's gonna be a wild ride!!

ReRan · 2021-08-12T23:07:51Z

slbeaudry Here in Canada, too.

Michael L · 2021-08-12T23:58:14Z

ReRan Yup, looks like we have gone "Full Retard." And an election will only serve as a distraction and won't change a thing.

ReRan · 2021-08-13T13:45:02Z

Michael L Just wondering, is there a minimum percentage of voters needed to actually elect someone? If there were no voters, what would happen?

Joyly · 2021-08-12T23:15:15Z

Well he swallowed the wrong pill ... along with plenty of others.

Patrick2017 · 2021-08-13T00:52:19Z

Arnie and his whole family are Nazis so what do expect he's all into the gulags and show me your papas. He was a shitty governor and started the make CA into a shit hole. Newsom's following Arnie, trying to finish it all off. Schwarzenegger is just old news.

sottreader · 2021-08-13T04:03:41Z

Patrick2017

"He . . . started the(sic) make CA into a shit hole."

That is incorrect - you have no idea what you are talking about.

Calif had been heading toward shithole status for many years prior to Arnie becoming Governor, with the bulk of the damage having been initiated during the first terms of Jerry Brown. Arnie ran on a platform to turn things around by doing away with the far-left "progressive" policies, reforming the extremely bloated programs, and reining in the inordinate power/influence of the gov't employee unions. During the early part of his term, he aggressively tried to implement the policies for which he was elected and was very popular with the population for his efforts. He made a damn good effort to "save" Calif, but was thwarted at every turn by the Dem majorities in the legislature and by the powerful gov't employee unions. He deserves credit for trying, but the forces arrayed against him were just too powerful and well-entrenched.

To blame Arnie for Calif having turned into a shithole is just stupid. At most, he deserves blame for giving up after his early unsuccessful efforts to turn things around and simply rolling over instead of continuing to fight to the end.