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Trent Reznor: Donald Trump A ‘Grotesque Person’ Who Represents Everything The Nine Inch Nails Frontman Hates

By Rob Cotton
Published on: 05:28 PST, Jul 26, 2017

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails recently sat down for an in-depth interview in which he talked about his life, the state of the music industry, and the culture at large. The interview eventually came to the topic of Donald Trump and Reznor did not hold back in expressing his feelings about the current President of the United States.

“He’s a f**king vulgarian. Aside from whatever ideological beliefs he has — if he has any — he’s a grotesque person who represents everything I hate,” Trent Reznor said during an interview for Vulture. “I’m repulsed by everything about him and he’s the president, you know? I haven’t figured out how to rationalize that to my kids’ beautiful little optimistic minds.”

Reznor went on to explain that he grew up in a small town full of likely Trump voters, so he can understand the point of view of people who support much of Trump’s message. But the Nine Inch Nails frontman said he really couldn’t understand how anyone could support Trump himself. But unlike Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, a band Reznor counts as one of his major influences, Trent Reznor did not decide to incorporate a direct anti-Trump message in the Nine Inch Nails live show, opting instead for more of a personal approach in trying to understand what’s going on with the country and why Trump was elected.

Trent Reznor is currently on tour and doing interviews in promotion of a new Nine Inch Nails EP called Add Violence. According to Rolling Stone, the EP is a solid offering from Reznor and his songwriting partner, Atticus Ross, awarding it four out of five stars and comparing it to some of the band’s best music from the past.

Trent Reznor did not spend a lot of time during the Vulture interview talking about Donald Trump. Reznor spent some time discussing the influence of his late friend, David Bowie, and also reflected on the changing face of the music industry. While Reznor thinks there’s some value in streaming platforms providing a wealth of music at anyone’s fingertips, he also thinks it can negatively impact the emotional investment people make in the music they listen to and enjoy.

Reznor also mentioned his children a few times throughout the interview, explaining at one point that he sometimes mutes the television if he’s watching the news and his kids walk into the room simply because he wants to avoid a discussion about how embarrassing it is that Donald Trump is the president. He also mentioned some discomfort about the inevitability of his kids discovering some of the dark lyrics in Nine Inch Nails songs, according to Vulture.

“I’m not looking forward to the ‘Closer’ talk, which is probably going to happen quicker than I’d like,” Reznor said, referring to one of the darker songs in the Nine Inch Nails catalog. “Just this morning, me and my two older boys were sitting in the hotel restaurant. Their mom has played the new EP for them a couple times. They’re like, ‘My favorite song is ‘Less Than’.’ That’s sweet, but then I’m thinking, Don’t I say ‘f**k’ in that one?”

The use of language that may offend people is one thing that Trent Reznor and Donald Trump seem to have in common.

[Featured Image by Trixie Textor/Getty Images]

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