{"id":15434,"date":"2026-07-24T06:36:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T01:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=15434"},"modified":"2026-07-24T06:36:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T01:36:39","slug":"conor-oberst-says-its-almost-impossible-to-write-about-absurd-trump-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=15434","title":{"rendered":"Conor Oberst Says It&#8217;s &#8220;Almost Impossible&#8221; To Write About &#8220;Absurd&#8221; Trump Era"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Oberst-and-Trump-scaled.jpg?quality=80\" \/><\/p>\n<div data-id=\"1613591\" data-title=\"Conor Oberst Says He\u2019s Finding It \u201cAlmost Impossible\u201d To Write About Trump Era\" data-url=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/07\/conor-oberst-on-writing-about-trump-era\/\" data-page=\"1\" data-pages=\"1\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/artist\/conor-oberst\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Conor Oberst<\/a> is finding it \u201calmost impossible\u201d to bring out his early 2000s protest songwriter voice in the Trump era, the singer-songwriter said during a recent talk.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DXH1p897f_w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><em>New York Times<\/em>\u2019 \u201cPopcast\u201d<\/a> posted Thursday, the singer-songwriter was asked how his attitude towards folk and protest songs differs under President Donald Trump than under the last Republican U.S. executive George W. Bush.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vivid-seats.pxf.io\/c\/1882189\/952533\/12730?subId1=bright-eyes%2Atrump-era-button&amp;subId2=&amp;subId3=&amp;sharedid=&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vividseats.com%2Fbright-eyes-tickets%2Fperformer%2F3437\" class=\"button button-ticket\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Find Bright Eyes Tickets Here<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really hard for me to even articulate the Trump era,\u201d Oberst said, adding maybe at some point he\u2019ll be able to express his thoughts on the current president in song, but, thus far, how \u201cabsurd\u201d our political environment is makes it difficult to write about.<\/p>\n<p>Related Video<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t satirize, or whatever, what\u2019s already like a parody\u201d or a \u201cdisgusting, gross cartoon,\u201d Oberst explained.<\/p>\n<p>In the 2000s, Oberst vocally tackled social issues in his music and onstage, routinely incising Bush\u2019s policies and the war in Iraq. The song \u201cWhen the President Talks to God\u201d by Oberst fronted <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/artist\/bright-eyes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bright Eyes<\/a> was an exemplar of that moment, and Oberst\u2019s performance of the polemic on late night television was seen as a moment defining opposition to the presidential administration as well as a continuance of an American protest song tradition. But Trump and his actions have Oberst befuddled.<\/p>\n<p>Back then \u201cWhen the President Talks to God\u201d felt like it meant something, Oberst told listeners. \u201cNow, I guess the bar has been lowered to such a degree societally in every kind of aspect of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oberst said he has contemplated and tried to write the protest songs of today, and the current political climate \u201cpermeates like everything I write.\u201d But \u201cto write directly towards it . . . I found it almost impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Plenty of people have asked him where\u2019s the new \u201cWhen the President Talks to God.\u201d And Oberst seems to be asking himself the same question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s such just an avalanche of insanity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beyond being inundated with insane political acts, Oberst gave another reason for a lack of protest music at large.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think people are scared,\u201d he said. \u201cI think they have gone out of their way to try to intimidate all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bright Eyes hit festivals in August and September before <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/06\/bright-eyes-fall-2026-us-tour\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">embarking on a U.S. tour<\/a>. Fans can look for tickets <span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a style=\"display: inline !important;\" href=\"https:\/\/vivid-seats.pxf.io\/c\/1882189\/952533\/12730?subId1=BRIGHT-EYES&amp;subId2=trump-era&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vividseats.com%2Fbright-eyes-tickets%2Fperformer%2F3437\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">via Vivid Seats<\/a>, where they can save $20 on their first order of $200 or more with promo code <\/span><b>CONSEQUENCE20<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> at checkout.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Conor Oberst! 30 Years of Bright Eyes, Hitting Rock Bottom &amp; Trump Protest Songs\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DXH1p897f_w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Bright Eyes 2026 Tour Dates:<\/strong><br \/>08\/08 \u2014 Omaha, NE @ Maha Festival<br \/>09\/18 \u2014 Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest 2026<br \/>10\/03 \u2014 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *<br \/>10\/05 \u2014 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre *<br \/>10\/06 \u2014 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart\u2019s *<br \/>10\/07 \u2014 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *<br \/>10\/09 \u2014 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *<br \/>10\/10 \u2014 Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel *<br \/>10\/11 \u2014 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *<br \/>10\/12 \u2014 Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl *<br \/>10\/13 \u2014 New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina\u2019s *<br \/>10\/15 \u2014 Austin, TX @ Stubb\u2019s Waller Creek Amphitheatre *<br \/>10\/16 \u2014 Dallas, TX @ Studio at The Factory *<br \/>10\/17 \u2014 Kansas City, MO @ The Truman *<br \/>10\/18 \u2014 St. Louis, MO @ The Sovereign *<\/p>\n<p>* = w\/ Lullaby for the Working Class<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\n\t\tn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=1;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\n\t\tdocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\tfbq('init', '1753966171496536');\n\t\tfbq('set','agent','tmgoogletagmanager', '1753966171496536');\n\t\tfbq('track', \"PageView\");\n\t<\/script><script defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&#038;version=v7.0&#038;appId=434175690014\" nonce=\"6gwmbCtM\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conor Oberst is finding it \u201calmost impossible\u201d to bring out his early 2000s protest songwriter voice in the Trump era, the singer-songwriter said during a recent talk. In an interview with the New York Times\u2019 \u201cPopcast\u201d posted Thursday, the singer-songwriter was asked how his attitude towards folk and protest songs differs under President Donald Trump&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/consequence.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Oberst-and-Trump-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}