SUM 41 Bassist Admits He Is 'Not A Fan' Of TRUMP, Says '45' Song Is 'Not Just About American Politics'

SUM 41 bassist Jason "Cone" McCaslinspoke to the "Wall Of Sound: Up Against The Wall" podcast about the lyrical inspiration for the band's new single, "45 (A Matter Of Time)", which is frontman Deryck Whibley's commentary on the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. Asked about the very political nature of the song's lyrics, Cone said: "'45' is probably one of the more political songs on the record. On our last record, we were watching a lot of news, so we were seeing everything unfold. CNN was constantly on in our tour bus, so we were kind of spectators to this little circus that was going on. And it wasn't by design. It wasn't like we sat down and said, 'Okay, we hate this shit. And we wanna make a political album. We wanna make a protest album.' None of that came up. The amount of news we were consuming, that's all we were talking about all the time. We would have a couple of glasses of wine at night, and we would start talking about. It seemed like when I would go out in Toronto, Trump came up somehow all the time. And so it just seeped in.

"We're not fans of the guy, obviously," the bassist continued. "But it's also about other things that are going on in the world. It's not just America. We're lucky enough that we get to tour around the world, so we see chaos and division and all this stuff in so many other countries as well. So it's not just about American politics. The Brexit thing was going on for a long time. There's chaos everywhere. So it's just kind of our opinion and our thoughts on the world as it is right now."

Cone went on to say that he hopes "45 (A Matter Of Time)" will inspire listeners to form their own opinions through reflection and consideration of different ideas.

"If people do the proper research on both sides of the coin — on the left and right — I think the right decisions are gonna get made and the right opinions are gonna be formed," he said. "I think it just takes people to think about it and research on it and form their own opinions on it. We're not here to be preachers or anything like that; we just have our own opinions, and we just wanna bring up the issue.

"The thing is I've had people message [us] on social media that I know are Republicans that don't agree with some of the songs lyrically, like '45', but they love the song," he added. "They can still listen to the song and not agree with our opinion on it, of what we're trying to say. It's like RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE — how many Republicans love RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE is super political. So it works. It's there; it's our opinion."

"45 (A Matter Of Time)" joins previously released singles "Out For Blood", "Never There" and "A Death In The Family" from SUM 41's new album, "Order In Decline", which came out on July 19 via Hopeless Records.

Armed with the most honest and intimate songs of his career, Whibley poured everything he had into the upcoming album. Producing, engineering, and mixing the album in his home studio, he pain-stakingly crafted and fine-tuned each song, highlighted by fast and full riffs, guitar solos from lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dave Brownsound, harmonious chords from guitarist Tom Thacker and the heavy, heart-thumping rhythm section of bassist/backing vocalist McCaslin and drummer Frank Zummo.

SUM 41 is co-headlining the inaugural Rockstar Energy Drink Disrupt Festival this summer on select dates throughout the United States and Canada.