Arnold Schwarzenegger slams Trump for ‘un-American’ rollback of environmental protections

Former California governor says president is 'hellbent on reversing decades of history and progress' on the environment

Arnold Schwarzenegger has slammed Donald Trump over his steady rollback of environmental regulations, describing the trend as an “un-American” attack on efforts to reduce carbon emissions and protect the country's resources like air and water.

The former governor of California also called out the president for attempting to discard the state’s regulations on automobile emissions in an article for the Washington Post, headlined “Trump can’t erase a decade of clean-air progress with a Sharpie.”

Under Mr Trump, the federal government was “hellbent on reversing decades of history and progress” on the environment, according to Mr Schwarzenegger, who wrote: “Whether it is [motivated by] political pettiness, shortsightedness or just plain jealousy, I couldn’t tell you.”

“How many times have you heard conservatives beat the drum of states' rights?” he asked. “But suddenly, when a state wants to pollute less and protect its citizens from deadly pollution, conservatives throw states' rights straight out the window.”

The former bodybuilder and movie star’s comments came as the state moves to adopt strict federal environmental and worker safety rules created under former President Barack Obama, just as the Trump administration is working to do away with them. The sweeping law would lock those protections in place throughout the entirety of Mr Trump’s presidency.

“I’m sure the [Environmental Protection Agency] and the White House will continue to say this dumb policy decision is all about stopping regulations that ‘cripple the economy',” Mr Schwarzenegger wrote.

He then touted the state’s growing economy which prevailed as California officials continued implementing strict environmental protections.

California doesn’t “play the games Washington does”, Mr Schwarzenegger wrote, “with each administration changing the trajectory of the United States and forcing businesses to guess about where we are headed”.

“That's a big reason nearly half of the venture capital in the United States comes to California. Businesses aren't just thinking about their talking points for their next campaign. They're planning for five years, 10 years, 20 years. Businesses must have long-term vision to succeed.

“Knee-jerk reactionary policies such as the move to revoke our clean air waiver create uncertainty,” he added. “Business leaders - and Californians - know that you can't just erase decades of history and progress by drawing a line through it with a Sharpie. It's time the administration learns that lesson.”

The headline was a jab at Mr Trump over a map he showed of Hurricane Dorian’s forecast, which featured Alabama circled with a black marker to seemingly support the president’s false claims about the state being included in the storm’s trajectory.

“California will fight this decision,” the Terminator and Conan the Barbarian actor concluded. “And I promise you, we will win.”

It is the latest skirmish between the two celebrities-turned-politicians. Mr Trump has lambasted Mr Schwarzenegger for getting lower ratings when he took over as host of The Apprentice, while the Austrian-born actor has challenged the president to produce his tax returns.