So this is the complete interview translated from Le Monde. I hope the translation isn't too bad, but it's better than Google translate.
Billie Joe Armstrong: "Today, America doesn't have any compassion for anyone."
An interview with Green Day's singer, in Paris, as republican candidate Donald Trump just won the presidential election.
"Can you hear the sound of hysteria? The subliminal mind fuck America". These lyrics from Green Day's American Idiot ring today as republican candidate Donald Trump gained access to the Oval Office in the White House. Released in 2004, the album was criticizing George W. Bush's politics right in is second mandate. Becoming a standard-bearer for a disillusioned generation, the album was a massive commercial success, selling 15 M copies in the world (7 M in USA and more than 200 000 in France). Sunday, November 6, the Oakland trio played their hymn again at the MTV EMA in Rotterdam, modifying some lyrics: "Can you hear the sound of hysteria? The subliminal mind Trump America".
Songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong, 44, with an eternal youthful face, has just released a new album, Revolution Radio, which its content is still very political. On the album, the singer condemns police brutality through the Black Live Matter movement, but also talks about the Bataclan attacks.
What was your reaction this morning when you've learned that Donald Trump had won?
BJA: I was totally confused, like in a nightmare. I woke up at 6 o'clock in my hotel room, in Paris. I had received around 50 messages in my cell phone when I usually only have 3. That's when I realised that something was wrong. When I went to bed, everybody was smiling, and then, I woke up and everybody is crying. I don't know what is happening. It's the first time I wake up a country that has elected a fascist for president. It is scary.
Did you vote?
Yes, I voted by mail 3 weeks ago.
Lots of Americans were disgusted by this very violent presidential campaign, as much on the Republican side as on the Democrat side. Do you share this feeling?
Absolutely. When the campaign started, a year and a half ago, the conservators had 17 candidates in the running. The campaign was very long. When Donald Trump became a candidate, he had a very different personality. With him, the campaign became a TV reality show. Trump gave more press interviews than everybody else. Then, he started to say enormities, which was funny at the beginning, during the primary election. And things started to take unexpected proportions. On the other side, I think Hillary was a very soft candidate. She could have been an excellent president, but as a candidate, she has lost the electors' trust. There is also this big nationalist movement which started to arise and blinded everyone. I think it's a reaction to the fact we have an Afro-American president, but also against immigration, Mexicans, Muslims...
Both coasts have massively voted for the Democrats. But, in the middle, the heart of the country, this profound America, who votes for the Republican, stays a mystery, especially from the exterior...
In France, you have a rise of the nationalism. A lot of uneducated Americans place their religion, christianism, before their good sense. What you obtain is a big ignorance. They vote against their own interests, whether it is for the health care or the augmentation of the minimum wage...They prefer to vote for someone who is against avortement because this is what God says. This is why there is such chaos today. But I can understand what it is to be uneducated, I've grown up in a working class city. If I hadn't had punk music, maybe I would have been in the same situation.
American Idiot, released in 2004, criticized Bush's government. 12 years later, Donald Trump is elected president of the USA and the lyrics seems, unfortunately, still relevant..
It's very strange. Today, the song makes me think of the American protest song We Shall Overcome, which appeared during dark times of zealotry and injustice. At the beginning, I didn't write this song in this sense. It says I don't want to become an American idiot or accept George Bush's ideas. The difference with Bush, is that Donald Trump is a fascist. Even George W. Bush did his speeches in Spanish. Donald Trump is a white nationalist. Today, we have a big problem with global nationalism. American follows the momentum created by England's Brexit. And it could happen in France.
Your new album, Revolution Radio, tackles some actual problems like police brutality against the Afro-American community...
I walked during a protest in New York City organised by the Black Lives Matter movement, and this is what inspired the title-track of the album, Revolution Radio. I got out of my car to join the protest in Manhattan, simply in the name of justice. I feel so bad for my muslim and gay friends...I'm really worried for the next generation. I have kids and I think I teached them good values and to have compassion for people. But right now, America doesn't have any compassion for anyone.
Another song, Trouble Times, alludes to the November 2015 terrorists attacks in France..
I was especially touched by this tragedy when it happened at the Bataclan, because one of my son has played this venue (Joey, 21, drummer for the group Swmrs) one year ago, before the attacks. So, when the song was done, I didn't want to put it on the album. People listen to Green Day to think about something else, to have a good time, but when something as horrible as this happens, it's like a nightmare. And then, there were the attacks at Orlando and I told myself the song had to do his own way.
How do you see the future?
The people who voted for Donald Trump are all guilty or fascists. It is something deplorable. As American, I don't want my family, my group or myself to be represented by him. I'm afraid a cultural civil war is starting in my country.