Samoan Prime Minister Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt has issued a public apology following the release of a 19-year-old video showing him performing a Nazi salute and chanting "Heil Hitler" during a family gathering. The apology, which was published Monday on the government's official Facebook page, came one day after the Samoa Observer newspaper first revealed the existence and details of the seven-second recording.
The video clip was filmed in July 2007 during a Schmidt family reunion in Samoa. A screenshot from the footage depicts Schmidt holding a microphone in one hand while raising his other arm in a Nazi salute, surrounded by other attendees who are mimicking the same gesture. According to the newspaper, Schmidt can be heard speaking into the microphone, instructing those present to "Raise your right hand, Heil Hitler!"
Schmidt, who served as the deputy speaker of Samoa's Parliament in 2007, did not dispute the authenticity of the video. He has been the leader of the South Pacific island nation of 220,000 people since winning an election in August 2025. In his Monday statement, Schmidt expressed regret for his actions, saying, "I recognise that those words and gesture were inappropriate and capable of causing offence and hurt and I apologise for using them." He emphasized that the clip was recorded at a private family gathering and was never intended for public viewing. The official statement also noted that the prime minister rejects "Nazism, antisemitism, racism and all forms of political extremism." The newspaper reported that the context of what occurred immediately before and after the seven-second clip remains unknown, and Schmidt's statement did not offer further details regarding the event.
The controversy has unfolded amid an ongoing conflict between the prime minister and the Samoa Observer, the country's largest newspaper group. The publication has been barred from attending Schmidt's press conferences and other official government events since November, when the prime minister accused the outlet of providing misleading coverage. On Friday, Schmidt confirmed reports that a government aide had deleted photos of him from an Observer reporter's camera. The photos had been taken in front of government buildings during an official event. Schmidt defended the aide's actions, claiming the newspaper was flouting its active ban. In response, the Observer has characterized the ban as "authoritarian," while the Journalists Association of Samoa stated it was "deeply disturbed" by the deletion of the photos. Pacific media groups have repeatedly called on the prime minister to reverse the ban.
Despite the Nazi gesture controversy, Schmidt has previously expressed strong, public support for Israel. This alignment is common among several leaders of small South Pacific island nations, where deep Christian traditions are heavily integrated into public and political life. Since September 2023, three other Pacific island countries have followed the United States in opening their embassies in the contested city of Jerusalem rather than Tel Aviv, where most foreign diplomatic missions are located. When Schmidt was sworn into office in September 2025, he wore a Jewish prayer shawl and blew a traditional shofar during the ceremony. Following his inauguration, Schmidt told reporters, "Samoa will not withdraw from supporting Israel as the country of God’s people."
