System of a Down’s Serj Tankian Demands Donald Trump Resign Over George Floyd Protest Response

The members of System of a Down seem to be as politically divided as the rest of the United States over President Donald Trump. On Sunday, the band’s lead vocalist Serj Tankian made a mocking post about Trump during the protests in Washington, D.C. Two days later, drummer John Dolmayan began posting his own pro-Trump rhetoric on the platform as well.

Tankian went after Trump for his violent response to the Black Lives Matter protests over the last two weeks in response to the death of George Floyd. On Sunday, Tankian shared a screenshot of a headline reporting that Trump had “fled to [the] bunker” beneath the White House, as protesters closed in outside. Later reports suggested that these kinds of jabs bothered the president, with late-night hosts speculating that they were the reason he ordered peaceful protesters dispersed with tear gas and rubber bullets on Monday evening. In his caption, Tankian continued: “Run Donny run into your bunker.”

“You may be the first US President to do so out of fear of your own citizens,” Tankian continued. “A real leader would address the nation properly and a real man would go face the protesters on the streets in person. But like other corrupt undemocratic leaders in the past, you’ve realized they are not your people as you are not really our President.”

Tankian went on to say that the president does not even really understand the scope of the protests now sweeping the nation. In addition to institutional racism and violence, Tankian suggested that protesters are angry over “the slave era electoral college that put [Trump] in power,” among other things. He also cited the “2018 peaceful successful revolution in Armenia,” saying how the U.S. could learn from it. Tankian himself is Armenian-American.

“Coordinate online and block every street everywhere and force the regime to resign. The time has come. Your time has come,” Tankian concluded. Tankian’s subsequent posts were equally political, supporting peaceful protesters and condemning violent cops. However, System of a Down fans were treated to opposing talking points from Dolmayan, who is an outspoken Trump supporter.

This divide within the band may explain its lack of new material in recent years. System of a Down has been teasing a sixth studio album since 2016, but the project has been on hold for years. Hints in various interviews over that time have spoken of conflict among the members, though they have all repeated that they have “respect” for each other nonetheless.