Tristan Kinnett January 7th, 2021 - 6:02 PM
People on Twitter were quick to recognize musicians Ariel Pink and John Maus and wonder about their participation in yesterday’s Washington, DC pro-Trump rally after director Alex Lee Moyer posted a picture of herself with Pink and Maus captioned “The day we almost died but had a great time instead.”
Pink eventually responded to the tweets, saying “I was in DC to peacefully show my support for the president. I attended the rally on the white house lawn and went back to hotel and took a nap. Case closed.”
i was in dc to peacefully show my support for the president. i attended the rally on the white house lawn and went back to hotel and took a nap. case closed
— Ariel Pink (@arielxpink) January 7, 2021
Moyer also posted a short video of Pink on the lawn of the US Capitol Building on her Instagram story. Both musicians had worked on the music for Moyer’s documentary TFW No GF.
— ⚠️ (@emilieaux) January 7, 2021
Replying to a follow-up comment about Pink and many others there not practicing social distancing or wearing masks during the protest, he said “All the people at these events deserve what’s coming to them. They took the risk knowing full well what might happen. BLM protests over the past 6 months are not informed about the pandemic?”
all the people at these events deserve whats coming to them. they took the risk knowing full well what might happen. BLM protests over the past 6 months are not informed about the pandemic?
— Ariel Pink (@arielxpink) January 7, 2021
Pink’s first tweet of January 6 was not completely serious in tone, “Welcome to the panoptigan. They wasted no time…save yourselves friends, cancel me now and turn me in before they come for you.” A few hours before confirming his participation in the rally, Pink also posted a couple of pro-Trump tweets, one saying “vote for Trump” and another linking to a YouTube video of a man ranting called “Joe Biden Racist Democrat History and Michelle Obama Using Racism Lying about Donald Trump & Blacks.”
vote for trump
— Ariel Pink (@arielxpink) January 7, 2021
On January 4, Pink had posted a series of tweets that also took a pro-Trump stance, starting with one that said “there are no moderates anymore on the left” and cited Black Lives Matter as “a good example.” He went on to restate the conservative view that the count stopped too early on election night, concluding, “The all consuming rage and contempt for Trump from every angle would be reason enough to question the integrity of the election.”
the all consuming rage and contempt for Trump from every angle would be reason enough to question the integrity of the election
— Ariel Pink (@arielxpink) January 4, 2021
Trump may be delusional- but at the very least, He believes he won- the media, on the other hand, is fully aware it is peddling lies and distorting facts to inspire hatred against the president to avenge the shame of its own deprivity of knowingly acting in bad faith
— Ariel Pink (@arielxpink) January 4, 2021
Maus has yet to say anything about Trump or the rally in clear language, although one fan did ask him to do so. This fan’s request was made after Maus posted a Vatican archive link to a Pope Pius XI text and highlighted one questionable paragraph about race. During a 2020 interview, Pink said Maus was “1001% on team Trump.”
— John Maus (@JOHNMAUS) January 7, 2021
— ⚠️ (@emilieaux) January 7, 2021
Pink has come under fire before, including times where a Redditor alleged he had behaved inappropriately with a band member and when he refused to pay a director for shooting concert footage. Some would say he also has a reputation as a bit of an internet troll.
