A recently published interview with System Of A Down vocalist Serj Tankian via Rolling Stone Italy has word of an apparent easing of the political dichotomy found within the multi-platinum nü-metal group. Given the prominent role Tankian has had in being the frontman for the outfit, his personal politics and outspoken political activism, which have tended to lean left, have long been associated with the band’s message.
As such, when the outfit’s drummer John Dolmayan publicly came out supporting U.S. President Donald J. Trump amid the latter’s first term in office, that ideological clash led to tensions between the aforementioned two bandmates, who are also in-laws. While the two were able to put their friendship and the band first, that political divide also caused a lingering fracture within the band’s fanbase.
Dolmayan stated in 2023 that his support for Trump has cost him “hundreds of thousands of fans,” but that didn’t stop him from staying true to his ideals. In 2025, Dolmayan said he was thankful for Trump winning his second presidential bid. Earlier this year, Dolmayan also expressed controversial right-leaning political opinions.
In this newest chat with Tankian, it appears that Dolmayan‘s support for Trump‘s may be waning however. As you’d expect, Tankian for his part too remained unapologetic for his own political stances in this discussion. When first asked about the divisiveness of artists speaking their politics in this increasingly hostile political climate, Tankian replied:
“Artists are people. Plumbers are people. Electricians are people. Journalists are people. Politicians are people. Everyone should be able to speak the moral truth. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do. Your job shouldn’t determine what you can or can’t say.”
When asked if he was an optimist of pessimist when it comes to the current state of the world, Tankian offered:
“I’m an optimist by nature. I always wake up in a good mood. There are people who wake up angry, even in my family. I, on the other hand, wake up happy; I’m optimistic. That said, the geopolitical reality, the environmental devastation, and everything else that’s happening in the world… The fact that we’re about to exceed the threshold of one and a half degrees of human-caused global warming… We are the only species that knowingly contributes to the destruction of our environment. Ecocide. Suicide. A disaster.
When I think about these things, I feel bad for my children, who are still young. So yes, I remain optimistic, but until we see a radical change in our political system and our way of life—and perhaps it will even take a destructive event to bring that about—we won’t be going in the right direction.”
The discussion later veered into System Of A Down being cited as an example of a band being able to set aside their political differences for the greater good, to which Tankian responded:
“First of all, I don’t want to speak for John about his political views; that wouldn’t be fair. I can say that the verb “was” [a Trump supporter] is correct. I can’t say for sure that it still is. I think he, too, got tired of Trump, like many others. Do differences make things more difficult? Of course. But there are also many points on which we agree. And John isn’t just my drummer, he’s also my brother-in-law. So it’s even more complicated. Our children are together all the time. They’re cousins. We see each other at family gatherings. That part is complicated.
But I’m certainly not the only person in the world who has a brother-in-law with different political views. It happens to a lot of people. Yet that doesn’t stop us from doing what we truly do: loving each other. We share so many things: our origins, our Armenian identity, our culture, our music, and everything we’ve built together over thirty years. And that carries a lot of weight. Yes, it’s difficult at times. But times change. Opinions change.
I’ll tell you one thing: before Trump, John voted for Barack Obama. I don’t even know if he says it publicly, but it’s true. People change. I know so many Armenians in Los Angeles who voted for Trump and now regret it. That’s all I can say. In fact, I’ll add something else. If you look at how much the United States has invested in education from 1980, when Reagan became president, until 2026, that explains everything.”
