Bono refuses to discuss Trump and says America is at a 'low ebb
‘We don’t mention the T-word’: Bono refuses to discuss Trump, says America is at a ‘low ebb’ and reveals his dream of seeing a united Ireland in his lifetime in wide-ranging interview
- U2 member suggests that former president already has enough media coverage
- Fellow band member Edge admits that AI is good for unintentionally funny lyrics
Bono declared America to be at a ‘low ebb’ while declining to talk about Trump.
The U2 star, formally Paul David Hewson, refused to talk about the frontrunner for the Republican nominee for president, but opened up about his ambition to see a united Ireland in his lifetime.
In an interview on Channel 4 along with fellow band member Edge (David Howell Evans), he resisted any attempts to bring the conversation to the former president.
When asked by Washington correspondent Siobhan Kennedy if a second Trump administration would make America ‘lower’, the singer simply remarked that the controversial politician already had enough news coverage.
He said: ‘We don’t mention the T-word. He already has enough headlines that man.’
In an interview on Channel 4, U2 members Bono (right) and Edge (left) refused to talk about the former president and Republican frontrunner, while expressing support for a united Ireland
Bono said that Trump already ‘had enough headlines’, while suggesting America was at a ‘low ebb’ in its history
The U2 star refused to answer a question about whether a new Trump administration would make America ‘lower’
But the singer expressed support for a united Ireland suggesting that Northern Ireland and ROI were ‘dating’ but had not yet ‘fallen in love’
Meanwhile, Edge joked that AI was good for creating unintentionally funny lyrics, while saying he wasn’t concerned it would impact ‘high level creativity’
Asked about the possibility of a united Ireland, Bono admitted he would love to see it happen sometime in his life.
Likening the relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic to that of a couple, he suggested that the two areas were currently ‘dating’ but not yet ‘married’.
The 63-year-old said: ‘We might not be at the falling in love stage, but we’re dating.
‘I think in the south, we have done an amazing job at transforming our society – it feels freer, it feels fair – it’s not fair enough, we’ve got an issue with housing, there are problems in Ireland – but I think we look more and more attractive to our northern partner.’
He concluded: ‘It could and wouldn’t it be wonderful. This pond is too small for a feud among frog.’
Edge added that the question of Irish unity should be about common ground and community, not power and sovereignty.
Both U2 members expressed concern that freedom and democracy are increasingly challenged, saying that democracy was going through an ‘existential crisis’.
‘All of our life, all of our adult life, the world was getting more free – since we were born basically. And for the first time, it’s going in reverse.
‘We always thought sexual politics were improving, gender politics, race relations, everything like that. So we’re definitely at some kind of existential crisis there too – not just in the climate – but in the politics.’
But Bono said he would still ‘bet on freedom’ over authoritarianism, and expressed optimism that America would recover from its ‘low ebb’ at the moment, pointing out the West’s technological edge over less free societies.
He said: ‘I’m attracted to freedom. I think it’s important that we demonstrate to the world what freedom looks like, what freedom acts like.
‘So I’ll bet on freedom and I bet that America comes back from this rather low ebb that it is at presently.’
Both U2 members told Channel 4’s Siobhan Kennedy that freedom and democracy are increasingly challenged, saying that democracy was going through an ‘existential crisis’
But Bono insisted that he would still ‘bet on’ freedom prevailing over authoritarianism, citing the West’s technological advantage over oppressed societies
On the programme, Edge also revealed an avatar he created of himself and declared AI tool ChatGPT to be great for writing unintentionally funny lyrics.
But he added that he didn’t think that AI would replace ‘high level creativity’.
Asked whether he would write an AI song, he said: ”I tried – it was really crap lyrics.’
The band will be playing from tomorrow at the Sphere, a 20,000 capacity arena in the Nevada desert.
On the large venue’s environmental footprint, Edge said that the group will offset as much carbon as they contribute and described their sustainability plans as ‘robust’.
He said: ‘Like any sane person we see climate change as being the existential threat of the generation. It’s something that we care a lot about.
‘But on this project, we want to go to the next level, but actually draw down the carbon associated with our performances and the production so by the end of it we will have drawn down at least as much as we’ve actually put out.’
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