Matt Bellamy of Muse has stated that he believes that it was Donald Trump’s divisive reign as president of the United States that allowed Vladimir Putin to “cause chaos” in the western world. These statements came as part of an interview ahead of the band’s new album titled; Will Of The People which is due to drop in August this year.
In the record’s title track, Bellamy sings; “We need a revolution so long as we stay free”, a sentiment that comes from the growing concerns held by the band’s frontman in a world of terrifying acts in global politics. He stated; “It’s a worrying time because there is a chance here. There’s a window for a lovely new kind of political model or socio-economic structure that could be really good. A good change is possible, but the problem is you have these authoritarians that are realising that they can capitalise on disruption.
The term “authoritarians” refers to Donald Trump whom the musician formerly described as; “represent[ing] the worst of the worst. What he did was destroy the country by creating massive division,”
He later added; “By any measure, a great leader is somebody who can unify their own people against external threats, and he’s done the exact opposite of that. He made them all turn against each other, and that’s what actually caused the whole of the West to become vulnerable enough where Putin can do what he’s doing now… It’s his complete lack of knowledge about the forces that unify the West like NATO and liberal democracy that has caused this chaos.”
In regards to who Bellamy thought contributed most to the fallout of Trump’s four-year car crash in the oval office. He said; “I’d say it’s more a case of Putin [thinking], ‘Let’s encourage the chaos – the division’. And the more he could create this dismantling of the West, the more likely he was to be able to get away with what he’s been wanting to do for a long time, which is reclaim the old Soviet states.”
You can find the full interview here, in which Bellamy engages with many other of the world’s most pressing problems.
Elsewhere, Muse kicked off their summer tour on the 4th of June 2022 at AM Ring. Featuring works across their entire catalogue (and some new material in the form of the unreleased track “Kill Or Be Killed”). Information and tickets can be found here.
Will Of The People is currently available to be pre-ordered at the band’s official website.
