Daily Times

Bono has shared his thoughts on the upcoming presidential election, with the U2 singer warning Americans that electing Donald Trump could result in the erosion of the principles the nation holds dear.

“Look, America is like the best idea the world ever came up with. But Donald Trump is potentially the worst idea that ever happened to America, potentially,” Bono told Charlie Rose. “I think of Emma Lazarus, those lines, ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’, this is America,” Bono said. “This is not from Donald Trump’s playbook.”

Bono admits that he spent his entire career trying to remain “fiercely bipartisan” – he respects the conservative tradition and the “party of Abraham Lincoln”, and counts many Republicans among his friends – but that the mogul does not properly represent those GOP values.

“I don’t think he’s a Republican,” Bono added of Trump. “I think he’s hijacked the party, and I think he’s trying to hijack the idea of America. And I think it’s bigger than all of us. I think this is really dangerous. Wise people of conscience should not let this man turn your country into a casino.”

Bono acknowledged that the tight race between Trump and Hillary Clinton is emblematic of the voters’ displeasure with America’s two-party system. Still, the singer cautioned that the choice Americans make would have a heavy repercussions on the rest of the world. “I would not diminish Trump supporters or underestimate their angst, because I feel that in a way, they have correctly assessed that the centre parties haven’t yet become clear,” Bono said. “There are very real problems facing not just America, but facing Europe. And remember, who’s in the White House? I’m Irish. I don’t have a vote. And I can’t be telling people how to vote and don’t want to, but I have a voice, and I can say that who sits in that office really affects everyone in this world.”