System of a Down singer Serj Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan have both been very vocal about the current state of the U.S. But while the two play together harmoniously, their political views couldn’t be any more different.
Tankian has been known for his strong left-wing views. And in addition to sharing information on the protests and other information regarding the police system, he called out Donald Trump for reportedly running to a bunker while the protests over George Floyd were taking place outside the White House.
“Run Donny run into your bunker. You may be the first US President to do so out of fear of your own citizens,” he posted on Instagram. “A real leader would address the nation properly and a real man would go face the protestors on the streets in person.”
He ended the post by calling Trump to leave office.
“The lessons of the 2018 peaceful successful revolution in Armenia can be applied in the US and elsewhere in the world,” he wrote. “Coordinate online and block every street everywhere and force the regime to resign. The time has come. Your time has come @realdonaldtrump.”
And while Dolmayan agrees with peaceful protests, he openly praised Trump for his relations to communities of color and pointed out that the U.S. president is constantly “attached.”
“Let’s not let the narrative that’s being spun make us forget the truth of this statement,” Dolmayam captioned a photo of the 45th president on Instagram. “The most attacked president in history yet the greatest friend to minorities! Don’t believe it? Look at the stats. Don’t like it, doesn’t change the truth of it.”
Dolmayan also posted a photo of retired St. Louis police captain.
“Injustice breeds injustice, for those of you who vilified me for calling for peaceful protests you should be ashamed of yourselves for perpetuating violence and advocating for mob justice,” he wrote in the post. “This man had a family too. I don’t care how many of you condemn me for my views and defense of the president, I will fight your attempt to silence any voice that isn’t in line with your perceived morally superior views just as I would fight for your rights to have and express those views I don’t always agree with.”
This isn’t the first time that Dolmayan and Tankian have voiced their opposing political views. When Bernie Sanders was still in the running for the Democratic presidential nomination, Tankian showed his support. Meanwhile, Dolmayan was definitely not a fan.
“I’m a millionaire and so is Bernie but I only have two houses so maybe I can share this hypocrite’s ‘summer camp,’” Dolmayan shared on social media (via Metal Sucks). “Don’t believe the indoctrination, don’t believe Hollywood/ music elites , and don’t believe communism disguised as democratic socialism will do anything but strip you of your freedoms and make everyone equally destitute.”
Despite their political differences, it looks like the band is still planning to join Korn and Faith No More on the road for a set of shows that have been rescheduled for May 2021. Tankian also announced that he’s getting ready to release a solo EP.
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