QUEENSRŸCHE's TODD LA TORRE Says A Growing Number Of TRUMP Supporters Are Experiencing 'Buyer's Remorse'

In a recent interview with Hakos Pervanidis of the Metal Hammer Greece TV program TV War, QUEENSRŸCHE vocalist Todd La Torre defended his right to speak out on political issues, explaining that he has "every right" to share his views publicly. After Pervanidis noted that he always thought of QUEENSRŸCHE as a "political band", Todd said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that if you go back and you listen to the classic stuff, the beginnings, there is a lot of political messaging, or there are things that are very geopolitical, social — they're very socially aware. 'Operation: Mindcrime', in that record there's a lyric that says, 'Educate the masses. Burn the White House down.' If I wrote that lyric today in America, in the United States, where it is extremely divided — it is pure chaos, okay? — everything turns political. It doesn't matter what I say or what I post — [even if it's] not political, somebody will come on there and call me a socialist, communist libtard."

Asked if he has ever faced any backlash from the QUEENSRŸCHE fans for voicing his opinions, Todd said: "Of course. I don't care. Some people will say, 'Shut up and sing. We don't wanna hear your political view.' My reply to that is, first and foremost, I am an American. Never mind the singer. I'm an American. I have every right. For someone to tell me to shut up is very anti-American, because we have the First Amendment, which is freedom of speech. You can say things I may disagree with. I can say things you disagree with. The problem is we have these echo chambers, and we have these people that are stuck in the algorithm of what they like… And also, there's always somewhere where you can find someone to agree with you, and that validates your bias."

La Torre continued: "I only care about what's true. If somebody that I like does something I disagree with, I have no problem saying that. I don't think the same thing can be said usually for the people that support this current administration. And you have a lot of buyer's remorse. You have a lot of people saying, 'This is not what I voted for. Now we're in a war with Iran, now we're this, now we're that. What happened to 'America first'?' And look, we should be able to have a civil discourse, but I live in a country with 330 million people and 400 million guns. You don't have school shootings here [in Greece] like we [do]... You don't have the gun violence."

Todd clarified: "I own guns. I have guns. But I don't talk about 'em online, and I don't brag about having a Second Amendment right to own a gun. So when I voice things — keep in mind, when I voice things, I am voicing things as Todd. I am not speaking on behalf of the band, and I'm not speaking on behalf of anyone in the band. The problem lies, I am the singer of the band, and those things are often tied together… [And] I write a lot of lyrics [for the band]. And I write political things. But I don't tell someone what to think. I try to push you to think, not what to think… I don't wanna tell you how to think. I want to encourage you to scratch your head and maybe think about something deeply on your own and really think about it."

Todd added: "Look, I try to be educated and current on world affairs, not just what's happening where I live, but things that are happening in different parts of the world. Plus I know a lot of people, mostly in Europe, but I know people in different parts of the world, and I ask them, 'What is it like here? What is it really like? What's going on here? What are things that you really like? What are things that you dislike?' And it's interesting to see how other parts of the world live, how they think. And right now, a lot of people are watching what's happening. And there are some very scary implications, but I'm hopeful that humanity will do the right thing."

Todd, who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, has made no secret of his disdain for U.S. president Donald Trump and has often used his social media to deride Republican positions on various issues.

More than five years ago, La Torre blasted America's deep political divides, distrust of centralized authority and even skepticism of science as it relates to the coronavirus pandemic, saying in an interview: "Science is important. Skepticism is important. But in America, people, they don't believe what's happened over the last several years. People have gone from skepticism to just complete disbelief of anything and everything they hear or see. So you can have an epidemiologist that spent their life as an expert in this field, and then you have other people that just think it's B.S. — they don't believe it. So you have this weird thing where, as a matter of public safety, [some people say] 'You are infringing on my rights. This is America,' and that kind of mentality. And you say, 'Wait a minute. Your rights stop when you are in a public place, and now public health and safety is the concern.'"

La Torre was the lead singer for CRIMSON GLORY from late 2010 until resigned from the band in early 2013. In 2012, Todd became a household name in the metal world when he officially joined QUEENSRŸCHE as the group's new vocalist. The band immediately began touring globally and started writing new material for the self-titled 2013 album "Queensrÿche". To date, QUEENSRŸCHE has released four studio albums with La Torre: "Queensrÿche", "Condition Hüman" (2015),"The Verdict" (2019) and "Digital Noise Alliance" (2022).