Despite some of his bandmates not holding the same political opinions as him, John Dolmayan has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump for a number of years. Now, while speaking with Australian YouTuber Lilian Tahmasian in a new interview, the System of a Down drummer spoke a bit about why he chose to vote for him again this time around.
“I’m glad he won, because it brings a little sanity back. Irrespective of what you hear out there, it’s much more sane with him than it was without him,” he said.
“We need law and order. Just like you lock your door at night, you don’t want somebody coming to your house when you have secure borders. We need people coming to this country. We all came to this country. And we need more people coming in. And the United States should always be a bastion for people that need it. Maybe they get oppression one way or the other in their countries and they need to leave. Or maybe they just want a fresh start. Or maybe they wanna be part of something that’s unique and interesting like the United States. And they should be allowed to do that, but do it a certain way — pay taxes, whatever you need to do, and live your life.”
Speaking about how System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian (who is also his brother-in-law) has very different political views than he does, Dolmayan added: “With Serj, he’s very liberal. But he’s got some conservative ideas too. And I think now that he’s running a business, he’s understanding how difficult that is and how regulation hurts these small businesses.”
“As far as politically — right, left, makes no difference to me,” John added. “It’s who’s doing wrong at this time. So, if the conservatives go way off on the right and become too religious or whatever the case may be, where they’re infringing on people, then I’m gonna be with the Democrats at that point, because I’m not a politician and I don’t give a sh*t about the political parties. I’m a realist. And whatever’s good for people, that’s what I’m gonna fight for. So I’ll always be the enemy. I can never win.”
“Serj was very against Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and I was like, okay, well, a lot of people listen to System of a Down and they’re only getting one perspective and it’s a perspective I don’t agree with. If there’s a kid in school and that kid is surrounded… I remember what it was like being a kid in school. You don’t wanna stand out. You don’t wanna be the focal point. You just wanna fit in and enjoy your life. And I remember what it felt like to stand out, ’cause I’ve always been a big mouth, right?
“And I just imagined some kid in a school who doesn’t believe what everybody else is saying and refuses to go along with it. Those kids commit suicide, they have difficult times in their lives, and I want them to know that somebody famous doesn’t think the way everybody else thinks, and it’s okay for them not to think the way everybody else thinks, too.
“And if that costs me a couple of hundred thousand followers, I don’t give a f*ck. If it costs me all my followers, I don’t give a f*ck. Because if one kid feels better about it, it’s worth it. What the hell are those followers doing for me anyway? I don’t monetize my platforms. It means nothing to me to have the followers. What it means something to me is help whoever I can help.”
