To paraphrase the Terminator: Come get vaccinated if you want to live. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the ruthless cyborg himself, has joined the masses of celebrities and public figures urging folks to get their COVID-19 vaccines in the wake of the fast-spreading Delta variant.
The actor and former California governor hopped on a video chat with CNN’s Bianna Golodryga and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman this week to discuss the persisting threat of the coronavirus, particularly in the US, and the safety measures he hopes his fellow Americans continue implementing in their day-to-day lives.
Between Hollywood, politics, and bodybuilding, Schwarzenegger has quite a varied resume to his name, but he has juuust enough humility to understand that he might not be the best point of reference for everything. In the interview, Schwarzenegger sang praises for health experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, explaining that he’s adamant on following CDC guidelines like mask-wearing and vaccination.
“There’s misinformation out there,” Schwarzenegger said. “My point of it was basically: Look, I’m an expert in how to build a bicep. Therefore, I know exactly what I’m talking about… There’s nobody who knows more about a bicep than I do, because I studied this issue for 50 years. The same is also with the virus, there are people out there who are experts who studied this year after year after year…Why would you not believe someone like that?”
Schwarzenegger added: “There is a virus here. It kills people. And the only way we can prevent it is to get vaccinated, to wear masks, to do social distancing, washing your hands all the time, and not just to think about, ‘oh, my freedom is being kind of disturbed here.’ No. Screw your freedom. With freedom comes obligation and responsibilities.” Watch an excerpt from the interview below.
Though he represented the Republican Party during both his gubernatorial runs, Schwarzenegger famously did not vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. He also condemned the January 6th, 2021 attacks on the US Capitol in a heated video he shared on his social media: “President Trump is a failed leader. He will go down in history as the worst president ever. The good thing is, he will soon be as irrelevant as an old tweet.”
Stay safe and mask up. Better yet, grab a face covering from Consequence Shop, where we are donating a portion of all proceeds to independent artists impacted by the pandemic. For a limited time, you can also get 50% off all designs.
