Yesterday Johnny Rotten (aka Lydon, but Rotten seems to work better at this point) made headlines by proclaiming his support for “possible friend” Donald Trump and throwing his lot in with Nigel Farrage and those who somehow still think Brexit is a good, solid idea. Today, instead of backing away from the story he’s doubled down on his comments, about Trump in particular.
Rotten declares beyond a shadow of a doubt that Trump is not racist (how he personally knows this, I’m not quite sure), and further proclaims that those who are against the current President will “destroy America.” Note that no one bringing it up now echoed these sentiments during the eight years that major factions of Republicans, and Trump himself, railed against Obama.
NME transcribed Rotten from his appearance on Virgin Radio:
“I didn’t expect to be misunderstood, I think I speak very clearly,” he told the radio station. “America now has a new President and whether you like him or not you have to support him or you will destroy the country. You got to make things work. The attitudes that are being pulled on him are stupid and wrong. He’s got some serious money issues and business concerns that deeply fascinate all of us but to be smearing him as a racist, this isn’t right, there’s no evidence or proof to that and until there is, I’ll stand up and say that I think that’s wrong.”
Furthermore, The Sex Pistols frontman is concerned with left-wing politics and people saying things without any factual support to back them up:
“In my past I’ve had that accusation thrown at me willy nilly and it’s a damn hard one to have to listen to and endure — make sure it’s right. There’s a terrible attitude in left-wing politics — they just feel they have the pomposity and right to just throw these accusations out without any evidence -– well don’t because my world requires facts. For the next week and a half the rag-and-bone trade that we call the media is going to be calling me a racist, that’s the tomfoolery of it all. That’s going to be damn upsetting all over again to my grandkids, isn’t it.”
The accusations he’s referring to date back to 2008 when Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke called him out for a racist attack after the two were involved in a physical altercation backstage at a festival. Now, a fight doesn’t prove racism, but certainly, everyone is quite clear where Rotten stands on Trump.
