Arnold Schwarzenegger Sounds Alarm: U.S. Nears Democracy ‘Cliff’ After Kirk Shooting
Arnold Schwarzenegger is worried about the future of American democracy. During an event at the University of Southern California on Monday, the actor and former California governor shared his thoughts about the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The talk was part of USC’s International Day of Democracy celebrations, where Schwarzenegger joined interim university president Beong-Soo Kim in front of students and faculty.
When Kim asked him about his reaction to Kirk’s murder, Schwarzenegger didn’t hold back. “I was very, very upset that someone’s life was taken because they have a different opinion. It’s just unbelievable,” he said in a video he later posted on X.
USC President Kim asked me for my thoughts about Charlie Kirk at USC’s Democracy Day celebration.
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) September 16, 2025
There’s something more important than my message in this video. It’s what you don’t hear. No heckling. No disrespect. No shouting.
I know that social media shows us the worst of… pic.twitter.com/pLgEFSLubA
Kirk was shot and killed on September 10 while hosting a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors say 22-year-old Tyler Robinson carried out the attack. Robinson was arrested on September 12 and has now been charged with aggravated murder, among other crimes. Officials confirmed they will seek the death penalty.
Schwarzenegger told the USC audience he was stunned when he heard about the killing. “This was a great communicator, a great advocate for the right — for Republican causes,” he said.
“It’s a human being. A human life is gone. And he was a great father, a great husband. I was thinking about his children. They will only be reading about him now, instead of him reading to them bedtime stories.”
He went on to talk about what he sees as the deeper problem: division. “We have to acknowledge that the cause of all of this is the social media companies that are dividing us, the mainstream media companies that are dividing us,” he said.
“The political parties — the Democrats that are dividing us, the Republicans that are dividing us. We’re getting hit from so many different angles, and we have to be very careful that we don’t get closer to that cliff. Because when you fall down that cliff — down there, there is no democracy.”
Schwarzenegger told the students that change is possible if people take action. “The people have the ultimate power,” he said. “Each and every one of you in here can make a difference.”
He also challenged student groups from both political sides to work together. “Imagine that you get together, and you start having communications together and solving problems together. You will have the media turn out in no time and cover that story,” he said.
“You can show leadership together and be this example. Because, remember, the people power is the ultimate power. That’s what democracy is all about.”
In his X post, Schwarzenegger praised the USC crowd, pointing out what didn’t happen during the discussion. “There’s something more important than my message in this video. It’s what you don’t hear. No heckling. No disrespect. No shouting,” he wrote.
He added that while social media can make it seem like anger and hate dominate, most people in real life are respectful. “If you find yourself falling for the anger, go out in the real world and make yourself human again.”
The Los Angeles event showed a calmer, more hopeful side of politics, even while Schwarzenegger warned that the country is dangerously close to losing democracy.
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