Billie Joe Armstrong's perfect response to election: "Treat each other with respect, kindness, love"
Many musicians have offered up their—mostly heartbroken but hopeful—responses to yesterday's U.S. election results, which saw Donald Trump as the chosen 45th president-elect. However, there was one person the music world was waiting to hear from: Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, a continuously outspoken punk rock figure who has never shied away from sharing his political views.
Gathered from interviews and Instagram posts, read and watch Armstrong's enlightening and perfect response below.
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After Green Day performed at the 2016 MTV EMAs this past Sunday, Armstrong was in Europe when he received the news. To U.K.'s Radio X, he said he was happy to not be in the states on Tuesday night, but that there was also “fear” being so far from home during such a pivotal moment in his country's history.
“When the elections happened, I went to bed—everyone thought the correct side was going to win,” he explains. “At 6:00 a.m., I woke up choking.”
He continues, “I was like, 'oh my god, why am I coughing?' And then, of course, the first thing I do is check and see what happened. I looked at my phone, and I had 50 messages. I was like, 'oh, this is not good' because usually I get like four every day. All my friends and family—everyone was freaked out because they just elected a fascist to the White House for the first time in American history. It's all sinking in right now.
“To echo Tré [Cool], in light of that, treat each other with respect and kindness and love.”
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Soon after the results, Armstrong posted on his Instagram, “Dream America, dream, I can't even sleep from the lights early dawn. Oh scream, America scream, believe what you see. From heroes and cons”—quoting the title track from Green Day's 2009 album 21st Century Breakdown.
Later, Armstrong posted a longer response, saying everything his fans and followers needed to hear. Confused, Armstrong writes, “Our social progress got punched in the face. Hard. It's hard to tell if we made any progress at all…”
He goes on, “One thing is for sure. Racism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, and xenophobes have no place in around Green Day and/or any Green Day event.”
“If you are black, white, brown, of any nationality or any faith, gay, straight, trans, girl, boy, punk, metal, goth, weirdo, skin, freak, and the overall marginalized of all ages, we welcome you with all the rage and love we can muster. We stand by you,” Armstrong concludes.
Read more: Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong shares why he won’t write any songs about Donald Trump
In a longer interview with Konbini Radio, Armstrong opens up more about his feelings when he found out Trump was going to be the next president of the U.S, also making more comments on the election cycle, the media and the state of the country in general (via Green Day Authority).
“I feel like I have a hangover after drinking way too much poison. So, right now, I'm just trying to process and get a little clarity. The whole election was just a shit show—it was tough to watch, and now it's even tougher to watch.
“There's been a lot of fake outrage and manufactured anxiety—and that comes a lot with the media. CNN and Fox News and MSNBC—news outlets, cable news—they treated this presidential campaign like a reality TV show. It's like Family Feud. You ever see Family Feud? They put two families apart and whoever answers the question—that's what it was like watching the news. It wasn't news. The media created Donald Trump,” he says.
Green Day released their latest album, Revolution Radio, on Oct. 7 and the emotional music video for “Still Breathing” earlier this week.
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