Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic Praises Donald Trump’s Speech
Update, 12:43pm EDT: Novoselic has issued a new statement attempting to clarify his previous remarks, although it doesn’t end up doing a whole lot to that effect. It reads in full:
“To clarify a few things: As an avowed independent, I don’t endorse a major party or candidate. And it feels insane to have to say this, but I don’t support fascism, and I don’t support an authoritarian state. I believe in a civilized society and that we all have to work toward that. Love and thanks to anyone who cares to read this.”
Original post:
Bummer alert: Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic is not one of us.
Following Donald Trump’s nationwide address on Monday, June 1 — finally speaking to the country about George Floyd’s murder and the protests that have erupted since — Novoselic took to his personal Facebook page to express his support for the president’s words. Those words, mind you, which made only passing reference to Floyd’s death and no mention at all of the systemic problem of police brutality in the U.S.
Novoselic came out in support of Trump, saying he “knocked it out the park” with the speech while praising its “strong and direct” nature. It read in full:
“Wow!!! I know many of you can’t stand him, however, Trump knocked it out of the park with this speech.
“I drove from Wahkiakum to Seattle and back today and have seen countless fellow Washingtonians on the road. I did not see any violence—but a Tesla supercharging station at an Auburn mall was closed off by police. Driving, I passed by regular folks who are already stressed by the Covid situation. Now, social media and television are looping images of societal breakdown.
“I agree, the president should not be sending troops into states — and he legally might not be able to anyway — nevertheless, his tone in this speech is strong and direct.
“I have been watching the images in the media and thinking about how polarised our country is. I mean, even wearing medical masks in public can be seen as a political statement! The violence, (and not the protests) appear as a leftist insurrection. Most Americans want peace in their communities and President Trump spoke to this desire. Never mind the legal details that few understand – Trump said he would stop the violence and this speaks to many.”
Novoselic’s statement is so full of nonsenical idiocy I don’t know where to start, but how about this: the notion that because he hasn’t personally witnessed any “societal breakdown” those problems are isolated and are being selectively looped and blown out of proportion by the media. Fuck you, dude, this shit is going on EVERYWHERE right now, as a quick browse of anywhere on the internet lays bare. People are MAD. And they’re mad because of hundreds of years of systemic, institutional, state-sanctioned racism in the U.S. Just because you haven’t experienced it yourself doesn’t mean it’s not real. We’re all fucking tired of the violence, Krist… no one wants it to be this way.
I’ll let you all do the rest of the dissection, but to say Novoselic’s statement is a massive disappointment is an understatement. One of the founding members of Nirvana, who changed the world! I sincerely hope that Dave Grohl read Krist’s words, groaned, and is penning one of his own, like the heartfelt op-ed he wrote last month about the eventual return of live music.
Novoselic previously identified as a Democrat, supporting Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, but has since left the party and leaned Libertarian, supporting Gary Johnson in 2016. You can read more about his past political involvement on his Wikipedia page.
[via Consequence of Sound]
