Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselić deactivated his social media accounts on Tuesday after being slammed for praising U.S. president Donald Trump’s response to protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
The 55-year-old musician opined that Trump “knocked it out of the park” with a speech Monday evening in which he vowed to deploy the U.S. military on his own citizens in an effort to stop rioting and looting.
Thousands of peaceful protesters in the park across the street from the White House were tear-gassed so Trump could walk to a nearby church for a photo op that he hoped would appeal to his evangelical base.
While he acknowledged in his Facebook post that Trump “should not be sending troops into states,” Novoselić said the president’s “strong and direct” tone.
He wrote: “I have been watching the images in the media and thinking about how polarized our country is. I mean, even wearing medical masks in public can be seen as a political statement! The violence, (and not the protests) appear as a leftist insurrection.
“Imagine is so-called ‘patriot militias’ were raising this kind of hell? If this were the case, left wing people would welcome federal intervention. Most Americans want peace in their communities and President Trump spoke to this desire. Never mind the legal details that few understand – Trump said he would stop the violence and this speaks to many.”
Among those reacting was R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills who tweeted: “Oh, Krist, no…”
Many Nirvana fans said Novoselić's comments go against everything the band and its late frontman Kurt Cobain stood for.
UK singer-songwriter Billy Lunn tweeted: “Seeing what @kristnovoselic said today … actually makes me want to vomit out of a sheer sense of betrayal of everything for which I believed Nirvana stood. Heartbroken.”
Musician Simone Marie shared: "I’d like to apologise on behalf of all bass players out there for Krist Novoselic.”
Novoselic later took to Facebook "to clarify a few things." He wrote: "As an avowed independent, I don’t endorse a major party or candidate. And it feels insane to have to say this , but I don’t support fascism, and I don’t support an authoritarian state. I believe in a civilized society and that we all have to work toward that."
This article has been updated since it was first published.