System of a Down’s John Dolmayan Expresses Support for Donald Trump: “I’m Glad He Won, Because It Brings a Little Sanity Back”

System Of A Down drummer John Dolmayan has been vocal about his political beliefs, a stance that has often sparked controversy among fans. In 2023, he admitted that sharing his views on social media led to “hundreds of thousands of fans” unfollowing him.

His political ideology has also placed him at odds with Serj Tankian, his longtime bandmate in System Of A Down. The differences in their beliefs created tensions in the past, but according to Dolmayan, they have since learned to co-exist with mutual respect.

Despite this, some fans have found Dolmayan’s stance controversial, given System Of A Down’s left-leaning lyrical content and message. In a recent interview with Lilian Tahmasian, Dolmayan reaffirmed his support for former U.S. President Donald Trump and the current administration. When asked if these opposing political views had caused friction within the band, he explained (transcribed by Blabbermouth.net):

“Yeah, well, we had problems with that, because Serj is very outspoken. And he has one way of thinking. Some things we agree with — the rest of the band — some things we don’t. Some things we’re exactly on par with. My belief system is a little different.

With Serj, it was, like, well, we don’t want that to be the only thing, because we don’t feel like that’s the only element of System Of A Down. It’s a big part of the band. Justice is a big part of that. Justice has no politics. It’s either just or unjust. It has no political affiliation. It either is or it isn’t. There’s a lot of things that come into play — morality. So we just didn’t want it to be the only focal point.

And Serj spent a lot of time talking about political stuff on stage. Now, I personally love it. The more crazy he got and into it, I believe anything that’s passionately displayed is worth listening to — even if I completely disagree with it. If you’re really passionate about it, I wanna know what you think. So I like that part of it. But the rest of the band, and me too, felt like it was just too much of our focus.”

“Lyrically, we don’t just sing about politics — we sing about love, death, hate, stupid things, inane things, artistic things, insane things. It’s all these things that make System Of A Down so unique. So we didn’t want the focal point to be politics. But that’s kind of what Serj wanted to talk about at the time. So we’re in a weird situation where I don’t wanna limit what he has to say, but I don’t wanna limit what people think of me either.”

Dolmayan continued discussing how perspectives shift over time:

“The Zack De La Rochas [Rage Against The Machine vocalist], the Serj Tankians, these were not the popular opinions. It became the popular opinions, but they were not at the time. And I guess I agreed more with it back then than I did at a later time because I felt like once it becomes the status quo in the popular opinion, then you’ve gotta really shift your way of thinking.”

Speaking further on his personal beliefs, he stated:

“First of all, being liberal, most of the time, is for the idealistic thinkers. We all believe in liberal concepts. I believe in a lot of liberal concepts. I believe in social concepts as well. I don’t want people to starve to death, I want people to have homes. But I also believe in self-sacrifice, and hard work will get you to where you wanna be. And I don’t wanna subsidize somebody that is lazy or doesn’t wanna pursue something because I worked very hard to get to where I am.”

Dolmayan also took aim at “woke culture,” career politicians, and the structure of modern governance, criticizing the long-term influence of special interest groups.

Later in the discussion, Dolmayan reaffirmed his support for Donald Trump, stating:

“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. 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.”

Dolmayan also weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding sex education in schools:

“I don’t care if you’re transgender, gay, whatever you are, live your life, I support you in that, but keep it away from kids. Keep sex away from kids, in general. I’ve got a 9-year-old. I don’t want them learning about this shit. I want them concentrating on having a good time, building friendships that might last their whole lives and learning about things that matter.”

Despite his strong opinions, Dolmayan clarified that his political stance isn’t rigid but rather reactionary:

“As far as politically — right, left, makes no difference to me. 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 shit 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.”

Dolmayan also reflected on how his outspokenness has cost him fans, but he remains steadfast in his beliefs:

“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 fuck. If it costs me all my followers, I don’t give a fuck.

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.”

---

Do you love independent bands, or are you in one? The Mosh Network is not just a rock/metal news website, but it doubles as an independent band directory, designed so that visitors can browse independent bands by not just subgenre, but location as well. It’s perfect to keep your finger on the pulse of your area’s hottest and newest bands or if you’re in a band, it’s a great way to find bands to network with! Click the banner below and start discovering bands all over the world, now!