British rocker Roger Waters warned Americans in an interview this week, saying voters need to survive President Donald Trump’s “totally unpredictable” agenda.
In an interview Saturday with CNN host Michael Smerconish, the former Pink Floyd frontman was asked if he thinks the vulgar anti-Trump imagery on display during his concerts are helping or hurting the president.
“No, I don’t think help or hindering,” Waters responded. “What we need is to survive his presidency because it’s totally unpredictable. I don’t think he knows what he’s going to do.”
“I’m thinking of a few cultural touchstones recently,” Smerconish replied, before listing off recent instances in which overtly violent imagery was used to attack President Trump. “I’m thinking of the Kathy Griffin ISIS-inspired photograph she tweeted. I’m thinking of the Caesar play in Central Park. It occurs to me it plays into his hand in as far as he gets to say, ‘Look at these leaders against me.’ He’s somewhat inoculated from it.”
Waters, however, responded by scolding the media over their obsession with what he called the “largely irrelevant” Russia election collusion story and the press’s refusal to focus on other issues.
“Well, maybe. This is the responsibility that you and the mainstream media have, is to not allow this to be taken as seriously as it is. I mean, I’ve sort of stopped watching all the talking heads about Russia-gate and this and that and the other because it seems to me largely irrelevant,” Waters said:
“There’s a larger picture that we could maybe all be focusing on,” singer continued. “The problem is entertainment has got mixed up with news a lot in this country. My general sense is that everything has to be entertaining. And in consequence, Donald Trump is great for the mainstream media because he’s such a buffoon.”
Waters is currently on the U.S. leg of his “Us + Them” tour, which sees the U.K.-born bassist performing “Pigs (Three Different Ones),” with several images displayed on large screens for fans to see. Concertgoers in New Orleans and Texas were shown images of Trump as a baby, another of the president being held by Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of Trump wearing a KKK hood, and another image of a naked Trump with a small penis:
Several Pink Floyd fans in New Orleans booed and walked out on the politically charged performance.
The images ended with the words “Trump is a pig” on the screens as a giant pig floated over the audience, the New Orleans Advocate reports.
The Pink Floyd co-founder has also been repeatedly accused of peddling anti-Semitism and anti-Israel hatred.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson.