System of a Down’s John Dolmayan Says He No Longer Supports Trump, Cites Gaza War as Turning Point

INTERVIEW: System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan says his views on President Donald Trump have changed, telling The Armenian Report that while he once supported many of Trump’s policies, he can no longer back him because of what he described as Trump’s support for Israel during the war in Gaza.

Dolmayan’s comments came after System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian suggested in a recent interview that his longtime bandmate may no longer be a Trump supporter.

Speaking to Rolling Stone Italy, Tankian was asked about writing in his 2024 memoir Down with the System that Dolmayan was a Trump supporter.

“First of all, I don’t want to speak for John about his political views; that wouldn’t be fair,” Tankian said. “I can say that the verb ‘was’ is correct.”

“I can’t say for sure that it still is,” he continued. “I think he, too, got tired of Trump, like many others. Do differences make things more difficult? Of course. But there are also many points on which we agree.”

Tankian also emphasized that their relationship extends far beyond music.

“He’s also my brother-in-law. So it’s even more complicated. Our children are together all the time. They’re cousins. We see each other at family gatherings. That part is complicated.”

Tankian added that political disagreements within families are common, saying he is “certainly not the only person in the world who has a brother-in-law with different political views.”

He noted that Dolmayan had supported former President Barack Obama before later backing Trump and said he knows “so many Armenians in Los Angeles who voted for Trump and now regret it.”

Tankian also criticized what he sees as the long-term decline of public education in the United States, saying, “If you look at how much the United States has invested in education from 1980, when Reagan became president, until 2026, that explains everything.”

Dolmayan later confirmed to The Armenian Report that while he once agreed with many of Trump’s policies, his support has changed.

“It was never just about Trump,” Dolmayan said. “Though many of his policies were unpopular, they were effective and I agree with many of them.”

He said his larger concern has always been political tribalism rather than allegiance to a particular leader.

“Where I had, and still have, a problem is with myopic and or zealot-like loyalty to any political group. Either liberal or conservative. MAGA or Antifa. When the ideology becomes a ritual or a religion it also becomes a divider and destroyer of conversation.”

Dolmayan said the members of System of a Down have always maintained different political viewpoints while respecting one another.

“In System we have four unique perspectives and personalities, four opinions that agree or don’t—it doesn’t matter. Serj has always leaned left, I have always leaned right, but generally we met in the middle.”

He said people should be willing to reconsider their views as new information emerges.

“The problem I have with any ideology or political philosophy is the lack of ability to shift with new information.”

Dolmayan said his opinion of Trump changed because of what he views as Trump’s support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

“I abhor injustice, cannot support Israel’s terrorist regime and will not watch as children are butchered by the same people who should be the most sensitive to genocide.”

“My opinion of Trump changed with this ‘new information’ of his allegiance to a genocidal regime.”

Dolmayan also reflected on how his political views have shifted over the years.

“In the early 2000s I felt the religious right were too far right so I shifted left. When the idiocy of BLM, Antifa and trans indoctrination became prevalent I shifted right.”

He said he does not consider himself loyal to either major political party.

“I have no loyalty to either party. With new information and new representatives I change my opinion based on the facts.”

Dolmayan also defended positions he has taken in the past on COVID-19 and other issues that he said were initially dismissed as conspiracy theories.

He criticized fellow entertainers whom he believes abandoned anti-establishment principles.

“The same artists and celebrities who were so anti-government were sucking at the tit of everything they pretended to fight against. They seemed to me like posers, liars.”

“The truth is they were lying to themselves and were duped by a government that neither cared about them nor wanted them.”

Despite their political disagreements, Dolmayan said his relationship with Tankian remains strong.

“Serj is my friend, my band member and my brother-in-law. It doesn’t matter to me if he’s right or wrong about a subject. He’s not perfect and neither am I.”

“What’s important is we respect each other and hear each other out. Something I think we do very well.”

The comments to The Armenian Report show the clearest indication yet that Dolmayan’s views on Trump have evolved since 2025, when he praised Trump’s election victory and said he believed it would bring “a little sanity back.” While he continues to support some of Trump’s policies, Dolmayan says his opposition to Trump’s position on Israel has fundamentally changed his support for the president.

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