It’s been a strange month for The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. In a video posted to social media on June 14th, the 5x platinum alternative rock band’s vocalist Ronnie Winter barred those who voted for U.S. President Donald J. Trump from attending the group’s shows.
However, in a series of livestreamed videos shared on June 16th, Winter went on to reveal that his so-called Trump supporter ban was actually — as he put it — a “charade” meant to raise awareness for his own issues with the state of Christianity. Prior to that revelation though, Winter doubled down on the apparent ruse, stating in the initial entries of several livestreamed videos:
“The reason why I told [Trump supporters] not to come here is because I’m protecting my real fans from you. I’m protecting my fans who are homosexual, I’m protecting my fans who have alternative views to yours. I’m protecting my fans from just your general assholeness and shitty attitudes and negative way at looking at everything.
I am protecting my real fans and there’s nothing you can do about it. Because you’re fake. And you’ve always been fake, and you’re gonna be fake. And I said, ‘don’t you fake it.’ So what happened is you missed the mark guys. You missed the mark way back in 2006 when I said ‘don’t you fake it.’ Don’t fake being a Christian around me, then I will get mad.”
By the third video, Winter came clean, revealing his Trump supporter ban to be a hoax of sorts. As he went on to say:
“I realize that you all thought this was about Trump, and I think that it probably did turn into that at some point. I’m sure it’s because I said his name. But the reason why I said his name, which God knows, is not why you think. And everything that I’ve done since when is not what you think.
So if you’ve been suspicious because this seems out of character, you win. This is what it looks like when somebody is so desperate to reach the lost that they will literally do anything to be heard.”
Winter went on to claim that the entire Trump supporter ‘ban’ and subsequent rhetoric was prompted by a ‘very pronounced Christian’ member of his family sending him a ‘pro-Trump‘ image which upset the singer.
Winter also went on to state what he said was was the true aim with his whole campaign of subterfuge: to engage people with his own personal “obsession with fixing Christianity.” You can read more on his thoughts regarding that via this past transcription of those livestreamed videos.
Following the release of those videos, the band themselves also went on to welcome all attendees to their shows, stating:
“GOD’s invitation of LOVE into its heavenly kingdom, is open to EVERYONE. Let’s stop trying to manipulate the Heavenly Fathers invitation. For a second didn’t it feel weird to not be invited to our events? Let it sink in guys. Obviously EVERYONE is invited to our events but leave the dividing topics out.”
Now, in a case of mixed signals, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus have once again gotten political. The outfit have just debuted their track “Slipping Through (No Kings)“, which comes paired with the below music video. Winter had the follow to say of the single:
“It’s about what’s going on in our country. The destruction of it. Everything we ever stood for is ‘slipping through’. It all began with Matt Squire and I working together in Los Angeles. He played me the track, and it immediately hit me. I knew this was the moment to say something about what’s really going on and happening in our city.
To put it simply, my neighbors are disappearing. Families are being torn apart. And our community has reached a breaking point. These aren’t strangers, they’re our friends, our loved ones. They’re not immigrants to us, they’re neighbors. And like Jesus said, ‘Love thy neighbor.’ That’s what this song is about.”
Given Winter‘s commentary above, it’s hard not to see the song as being commentary on the immigration raids being conducted by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement this year, particularly those in the Los Angeles area earlier month. Those series of raids set off a wave of protests, which led to the deployment of the National Guard and U.S. Marines.
Tensions have continued to simmer since, boiling over across the country with the ‘No Kings’ protest that served to counter President Trump‘s June 14th birthday festivities that was paired with a military parade celebrating 250 years of the U.S. Army.
