Arnold Schwarzenegger hits back at Donald Trump slating his Celebrity Apprentice ratings with Lincoln quote

'Please study this quote from Lincoln's inaugural Donald Trump. It inspired me every day I was Governor, and I hope it inspires you,' Schwarzenegger says

Arnold Schwarzenegger has hit back at Donald Trump’s decision to slam the actor's ratings for his debut episode of the Celebrity Apprentice.

The President-elect fired off a tweet about the reality TV show, which he used to host and continues to be an executive producer for, on Friday morning.

The billionaire property developer suggested the actor had been “destroyed” and referred to himself as a “ratings machine”.

“Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got “swamped” (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT,” Mr Trump wrote.

“So much for being a movie star-and that was season 1 compared to season 14. Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary”.

Schwarzenegger, who served two terms as the Republican Governor of California, responded to Mr Trump's tweets by posting a video of himself quoting Abraham Lincoln’s first 1861 inaugural address.

Referring to Lincoln as one of his “heros”, he suggested that his message held great resonance in contemporary times.

“I wish you the best of luck and I hope you'll work for ALL of the American people as aggressively as you worked for your ratings,” Schwarzenegger tweeted.

“Please study this quote from Lincoln's inaugural, @realDonaldTrump. It inspired me every day I was Governor, and I hope it inspires you.”

Reading out the Lincoln quote word for word, Schwarzenegger says: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.

“Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

While Schwarzenegger’s debut episode attracted 4.93 million viewers, Mr Trump’s debut episode in 2008 was watched by 11.08 million and his last amassed 6.1 million.