Brian Eno clarifies comments about ‘complete disaster’ Donald Trump

Musician said he was 'pleased' about Trump's election win and Brexit because 'it gives us a kick up the arse'

Brian Eno has clarified recent comments he made about Donald Trump’s Presidency.

Earlier this week, Eno made headlines after a Guardian interview in which he described himself as “pleased” about Trump’s election win and Brexit if only because “it gives us a kick up the arse”.

The seminal ambient and electronic musician has now elaborated on his stance, saying in a Facebook post: “May I make something absolutely clear: I think Donald Trump is a complete disaster. And Brexit is a disaster too. That said, what I think is an even greater disaster is that we in the US and the UK – and increasingly the rest of the world – live inside political systems that can produce absurd results like these.”

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Eno went on to add: “My hope – the only hope really – is that Trump in office will reveal himself for what he really is, and that the public will roundly and unequivocally reject him and everything he stands for – his terrible policies, his jingoism, his arrogance, his childishness, his lies, his prejudices and his small-mindedness. In rejecting Trump we’ll also start to take down the whole malignant media-political structure that so lovingly nurtured him.”

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“As I’ve written before, I believe that Trump can turn out to be not the beginning of a long decline, but the end of one – the turning point. For 40 years we’ve been sliding into a deepening pit of inequality, fear-driven nationalism and conservatism, and mostly not noticing. Trump’s presidency could inadvertently change that – not because he’s going to do anything right but because his election is energising people to come to grips with the fact that their political system is fundamentally broken and it’s time to do something about it. The demonstrations that happened last weekend are a reflection of this new mood.”

“It would have been better if we hadn’t got to this point, but that’s where we are. My feeling is that a Clinton presidency (or even a ‘remain’ vote in Britain), though more comfortable in the short term, wouldn’t have dealt with the fundamental problems that beset both our political systems. Trump has proven beyond doubt that the system is broken, so let’s fix it.”

There was a Guardian interview with me earlier this week which had as its headline "We've been in decline for 40 years -…

Posted by Brian Eno on Thursday, January 26, 2017

Read Eno’s previous comments about Trump and Brexit here.

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Eno recently shared an extensive New Year’s Day message, urging the public to push for equality.

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