Trump’s supporting musician, Ariel Pink, was attacked after he was seen attending the riot that turned into a riot in Washington, DC on Wednesday. In a tweet on Thursday morning, he confirmed his participation, but denied being part of the crowd that attacked the nation’s Capitol shortly after Donald J. Trump spoke.
“I was in DC to peacefully show my support for the president, ”said the indie rock musician in a tweeted response to questions from curious fans and detractors. “I attended the rally on the White House lawn and went back to the hotel and took a nap. Case closed.”
I was in DC to show my support for the president peacefully. I attended the rally on the lawn of the White House and went back to the hotel and took a nap. case closed
– Ariel Pink (@arielxpink) January 7, 2021
John Maus, friend of Pink and supporting musician for Trump, also caught fire for allegedly coming to DC for the rally, although Maus responded more indirectly to questions from fans.
Pink later responded to a follower who accused him of “putting others at risk by being in such a massive meeting that protesters are not socializing or wearing masks”. The musician responded by suggesting that anyone who complained about the Trump rally but was okay with the protests from Black Lives Matter was hypocritical: “Everyone at these events deserves what they are getting. They took the risk knowing full well what could happen. Have BLM protests in the past 6 months not been reported about the pandemic? “Another follower replied,” Almost all BLM protesters are wearing masks. “
everyone at these events deserves what comes to them. they took the risk knowing very well what could happen. Have BLM protests in the past 6 months not been reported about the pandemic?
– Ariel Pink (@arielxpink) January 7, 2021
The clarification did little to appease the many disappointed fans about the possibility of him participating in the rally, peaceful or not. “Casket closed”, a user tweeted in response to Pink’s comment on “case closed”. “My fandom is dead.”
yes, case closed. or rather: closed coffin. my fandom is dead.
– Unästhetische Stehtischhusse (@EmmKaGaertner) January 7, 2021
Questions about Pink’s participation at the event arose after filmmaker Alex Lee Moyer posted a photo on Instagram of Washington, DC depicting Pink and Maus in a hotel room with the caption: “The day we almost died, but we had a lot of fun ”.
Maus did not respond to his followers’ requests to clarify why he attended Trump’s rally, except to cryptically tweet a link to a 1937 papal encyclical responding to concerns about the growing threat in Nazi Germany. But Pink recently made it clear that Maus shares his support for Trump.
“John is, by the way, 1001% on Team Trump now,” Pink said in an interview a few weeks ago with the right-wing podcast Wrong Opinion, which describes itself as being inspired by Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.
Describing his own beliefs on the podcast, Pink characterized January 20 as “guillotine day” and expressed concern for the state of the country if Trump did not continue as president. “I don’t see how things can go on,” he said. “I think the fact that Trump is in office now is the only reason we are working … We will never see another like him (Trump).” He said the Democratic side “cheated. They are on their way to acquire these Domain systems … in some kind of collaboration with China … The fact that Clinton did not win in 2016 was an act of divine intervention. He adds that, despite losing in 2016, Democrats have still benefited from the past “four years of torture of people with Trump’s outrage.”
“I am a new man and my eyes have been opened,” added Pink of her growing support for Trump.
“Anyone who can basically be an American or even a European or whatever, but still be a Democrat right now, for me … they’re not paying attention,” said Pink on the podcast. “For me it is as if, suddenly, all their intelligence turns out to be a complete farce. All the intelligence they had in the world, all their fucking artistic genius … it was just a facade. “
Pink also uses the podcast to discuss a discussion with her doctor father about COVID, arguing that the vaccine “doesn’t actually stop you from getting the virus … it just stops the symptoms.”
As part of his claim that “science has gotten out of control,” says the singer, “I never fed against climate science, but you really should ask yourself now if all of this was bullshit. And in my opinion it probably is. Because literally everything that Democrats stand for, every platform, is bullshit. So Trump to me is an accusation of any bullshit … I’m so gay to Trump that he would let him fuck me in the ass. “