Avowed Trump-supporting musician Ariel Pink has come under fire after he was seen attending the rally that turned into a riot in Washington, D.C. Wednesday. In a tweet Thursday morning, he confirmed his participation, but denied being part of the mob that assaulted the nation’s capitol shortly after Donald J. Trump spoke.
“i was in D.C. to peacefully show my support for the president,” the indie rock musician said in a tweeted response to queries from curious fans and detractors. “I attended the rally on the White House lawn and went back to hotel and took a nap. Case closed.”
i was in dc to peacefully show my support for the president. i attended the rally on the white house lawn and went back to hotel and took a nap. case closed
— Ariel Pink (@arielxpink) January 7, 2021
Pink’s friend and fellow Trump-supporting musician John Maus has also taken fire for allegedly coming to D.C. for the rally, although Maus has responded more obliquely to fan queries.
Later, Pink responded to a follower who accused him of “putting others at risk by being at such a massive gathering in which protesters are not socially distancing or wearing masks.” The musician wrote back by suggesting that anyone who would complain about the Trump rally but be OK with Black Lives Matter protests was hypocritical: “All the people at these events deserve what’s coming to them. They took the risk knowing full well what might happen. BLM protests over the past 6 months are not informed about the pandemic?” Another follower replied, “Almost all BLM protesters are wearing masks.”
all the people at these events deserve whats coming to them. they took the risk knowing full well what might happen. BLM protests over the past 6 months are not informed about the pandemic?
— Ariel Pink (@arielxpink) January 7, 2021
The clarification did little to mollify the many fans disappointed that he would take part in the rally at all, peaceful or otherwise. “Casket closed,” one user tweeted in response to Pink’s “case closed” remark. “My fandom is dead.”
yes, case closed. or better: casket closed. my fandom is dead.
— Unästhetische Stehtischhusse (@EmmKaGaertner) January 7, 2021
Questions about Pink’s participation in the event arose after filmmaker Alex Lee Moyer posted a photograph on Instagram from Washington, D.C. picturing Pink and Maus in a hotel room with the caption, “The day we almost died but instead had a great time.”
Maus has not responded to his followers’ requests to clarify why he attended the Trump rally, other than to cryptically tweet a link to a papal encyclical from 1937 responding to concerns about the growing threat in Nazi Germany. But Pink recently made it clear that Maus shares his Trump support.
“John is, by the way, 1001% on Team Trump now,” Pink said in an interview a few weeks ago with the right-wing Wrong Opinion podcast, which describes itself as being inspired by Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.
Describing his own beliefs on the podcast, Pink characterized Jan. 20 as “the day of the guillotine” 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 that Trump being in office right now is the only reason we’re up and running… We’ll never see another one like him (Trump).” He said the Democratic side “did cheat. They’ve been on the path toward acquiring these Dominion systems… in some sort of collaboration with China… The fact that Clinton didn’t win in 2016 was an act of divine intervention. He adds that, despite losing in 2016, Democrats still benefitted from the last “four years of torturing people with Trump outrage.”
“I’m a new man, and my eyes have been opened,” Pink added of his growing support for Trump.
“Anybody that can basically be an American or even be a European or whatever but still be a Democrat at this point, that to me… they’re not paying attention,” Pink said in the podcast. “To me it’s like all of a sudden all their intelligence just got shown to be a complete farce. All the smarts in the world that they had, all their artistic fucking genius… was just window dressing.”
Pink also uses the podcast to discuss arguing with his doctor father about COVID, maintaining that the vaccine “doesn’t actually stop you from getting the virus… It just stops the symptoms.”
As part of his contention that “science has flown the coop,” the singer says, “I never rallied against climate science, but you really do have to wonder now if all of that stuff was bullshit. And in my opinion it probably is. Because literally everything the Democrats stand for, every single platform, is bullshit. So Trump for me is an indictment on anything bullshit… I’m so gay for Trump, I would let him fuck me in the butt.”