Bono declared that America was at a “low ebb” as he refused to talk about Trump.
The U2 star, formally Paul David Hewson, declined to talk about the front-runner for the Republican candidate for president, but opened up about his ambition to see a united Ireland in his lifetime.
In an interview on Channel 4, alongside fellow bandmate Edge (David Howell Evans), he resisted any attempt to discuss the conversation with the former president.
When asked by Washington correspondent Siobhan Kennedy whether a second Trump administration would “lower” America, the singer simply noted that the controversial politician had already had enough coverage.
He said, “We don’t mention the T-word. He’s got enough headlines already that man.’
In an interview on Channel 4, U2 members Bono (right) and Edge (left) refused to talk about the former president and Republican frontrunner, while voicing their support for a united Ireland
Bono said Trump already had ‘enough headlines’ as he suggested America was at a ‘low ebb’ in its history
The U2 star declined to answer a question about whether a new Trump administration would “lower” America
But the singer voiced his support for a united Ireland and suggested Northern Ireland and ROI were dating but had not yet ‘fallen in love’.
Meanwhile, Edge joked that AI was good for creating unintentionally funny copy, saying he wasn’t worried it would impact “high-level creativity.”
Asked about the possibility of a united Ireland, Bono admitted he would like to see it happen at some point in his lifetime.
Comparing the relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic to that of a couple, he suggested the two territories were currently dating but not yet ‘married’.
The 63-year-old said: ‘We may not be at the falling in love stage yet, but we are dating.
‘I think we’ve done a great job in the south in transforming our society – it feels freer, it feels fair – it’s not fair enough, we have a housing problem, there are problems in Ireland – but I think that we look increasingly attractive to our northern partner.’
He concluded, “It would and wouldn’t be great. This pond is too small for a fight between frogs.’
Edge added that the issue of Irish unity should be about common ground and community, not power and sovereignty.
Both U2 members expressed concern that freedom and democracy are increasingly being tested, saying democracy was experiencing an “existential crisis.”
“All our lives, all our adult lives, the world has been becoming freer – since we were actually born. And for the first time it goes in the opposite direction.
“We always thought that sexual politics were improving, gender politics, race relations, and things like that. So there too we are certainly in a kind of existential crisis – not only in the field of climate – but also in politics.’
But Bono said he would still bet “on freedom” over authoritarianism, and expressed optimism that America would recover from its “low point” at the moment, pointing to the West’s technological advantage over less free societies.
He said: ‘I am attracted to freedom. I think it’s important that we show the world what freedom looks like, how freedom behaves.
“So I’m betting on freedom and I’m betting that America will come back from this kind of low ebb point that it’s at right now.”
Both U2 members told Channel 4’s Siobhan Kennedy that freedom and democracy were increasingly being tested, saying democracy was experiencing an ‘existential crisis’.
But Bono insisted he would still bet on freedom prevailing over authoritarianism, citing the West’s technological advantage over oppressed societies.
On the show, Edge also revealed an avatar he made of himself and stated that AI tool ChatGPT is great for writing unintentionally funny texts.
But he added that he didn’t think AI would replace “high-level creativity.”
When asked if he wanted to write an AI song, he said: “I tried, they were really rubbish lyrics.”
The band will play starting tomorrow at the Sphere, a 20,000-capacity arena in the Nevada desert.
Speaking about the large venue’s carbon footprint, Edge said the group will offset as much carbon as they contribute, describing their sustainability plans as ‘robust’.
He said: ‘Like any right-thinking person, we see climate change as the existential threat of this generation. It’s something we care about a lot.
“But on this project we want to go to the next level, but we want to actually reduce the CO2 emissions associated with our performance and production, so that at the end of it we will have consumed at least as much as we actually emitted. .’