Rolling Stone’s affinity for U2 is a matter of public record at this point, so it should come as no surprise that the lead singer of that iconic, Irish outfit landed on the cover of the latest issue of their magazine. In a wide-ranging interview with Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner, Bono touched on a variety of different topics, including a mysterious brush with death that he refuses to get into specifics about. Most notably however, he expounds at length on the present political climate and how dire the mood in America feels.
“This is surely the bleakest era since Nixon,” Bono said of the present, Donald Trump-led reality. “It surely undermines the very idea of America, what is going on now.” It’s notable that throughout his chat with Wenner, Bono never mentions the sitting President’s name once, though he speaks at length about what he’s wrought.
“Before I went out against him in the primaries, I called a lot of Republican friends that I have and said, “I can’t in all conscience be quiet as this hostile takeover of your party and perhaps the country happens.” And I made the quote, and I still stand by it, “America is the greatest idea the world has ever had, and this is potentially the worst idea that has ever happened to it.”
But, because he’s Bono, he remains romantically optimistic about our chances to pull through, and the stakes at play if we don’t. “Ireland is a very nice country. France is a great country. Great Britain is a great country, but it is not an idea. America is an idea, and it’s a great idea,” he declared. “The world feels a stake in that idea. We want you, it, to succeed, which is why we become f*cking obnoxious and shoot our mouths off about it. The world needs America to succeed, now more than ever.”
You can read the entire interview over at Rolling Stone.
