ABC/Randy HolmesGreen Day is currently on tour in support of their new album Revolution Radio, and the outing hasn’t been without revolutionary speech. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has made his opinion about President Donald Trump well-known, and he says he’s not afraid to speak his mind.
“I think we’re in a crisis mode right now,” Armstrong tells Rolling Stone. “For me, it’s important to get back to fundamentally what it feels like to be an American. We all come from different backgrounds, but we come together and create this world. It’s like a microcosm for the rest of the world.”
He adds, “I want people to feel unity when they come to a show. At the same time, I’m not going to [chicken] out on saying what I feel about [Trump] and his administration.”
Armstrong feels that Green Day provides “a voice to join the resistance.” Of course, the band isn’t new to political commentary: Their 2004 album American Idiot criticized the George W. Bush administration.
“Bush, as far as I’m concerned, is a war criminal,” Armstrong says. “With Trump, we have no idea. Right now it’s just a freak show.”
Still, Armstrong is optimistic that his kids’ generation, which he dubs the “Harry Potter Generation,” will be capable of dealing with said “freak show.”
“It’s a classic tale of good versus evil,” says Armstrong. “To have a role model like Harry Potter that says you can defeat evil, but still be a complicated human being…that gives me a lot of hope.”
Green Day’s U.S. spring tour concludes April 8 in San Diego, and the band will be back for a summer leg in August.
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