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System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian has spoken of his frustration at “being politically opposite” to the band’s drummer, John Dolmayan.
Dolmayan has praised Donald Trump publicly on a number of occasions in recent months, saying that Trump is the “most attacked president in history yet the greatest friend to minorities” back in June.
He also criticised the Democratic Party and the Black Lives Matter movement in July, saying that the latter “never had legitimacy” and that it serves as a “propaganda tool” for the Democrats.
Speaking to Forbes in a new interview, Tankian said that he finds it “frustrating” that Dolmayan, who is also his brother-in-law, holds such different political views to his own.
“He’s Armenian. He’s my brother-in-law and my drummer. Is it frustrating being politically opposite to your own drummer and brother-in-law? Fuck yeah. Of course it’s frustrating,” he said.
“But that’s having to do with American politics. When it comes to Armenian issues we’re on the same exact page,” he added. “We know what injustice is happening, we work together. We’re doing different auction activities and working together on many fronts. The Armenian nation is united, whether you voted for Republican, Democrat or neither.”
Tankian also voiced his opinion that Bernie Sanders “would’ve been the best choice going forward” for the Democrats in next month’s election, but added that he’s “OK with Biden”.
“I’m happy that they’ve made that statement. The elections are coming up and normally I’m very vocal, but this war and the daily death toll [in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh] has really taken up my full spectrum of focus.”
Late last month, Dolmayan argued that Tankian doesn’t speak for all of System Of A Down when it comes to politics.
“If you think that Serj is the mouthpiece of the band, which he is as far as vocally but not necessarily for ideology, then you have nowhere to go,” he said.
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