Billie Joe Armstrong has spoken out on the power of the World Cup and explained why Green Day are “not a political band”.
In a new interview with the LA Times, Armstrong spoke about the evolution of their career. Their major-label debut and best-selling album to date, 1994’s ‘Dookie’, touches on themes such as boredom, anxiety, depression and much more.
“We were not about politics at all – even though we came from an outspoken scene,” Armstrong said of their early career. “It was just a really crazy time.”
However, with the release of 2004’s ‘American Idiot’, Green Day were inspired by the tumult of 9/11 and the Iraq War. Later albums such as 2016’s ‘Revolution Radio‘ continued this political streak, drawing from the band’s anger at the rise of President Donald Trump.
Armstrong remarked that ‘American Idiot’ “came out of nowhere”, explaining: “It was done with heart and from a place of total confusion about why the world is changing and this dark and ugly place and I think that rings true, especially right now”.
However, he added that he “felt really proud of America” while watching the World Cup. The tournament was hosted across the US, Canada and Mexico this year. “I felt like the World Cup did more than the UN has done in the last 20 years – that was a really beautiful thing,” Armstrong told the LA Times.
He concluded by emphasising the importance of “heart” in their songwriting, as opposed to being a “political” band. “We’re definitely outspoken, but the songs are very personal and documenting where you’re at in that particular time in your life,” Armstrong said.
Green Day will soon release their comedy movie Nimrods loosely inspired by their early touring days. The movie comes out on August 14 in theatres.
“You have to be delusional to be in a band,” Armstrong said of the film. “It takes a certain kind of dreamer. I remember trying to get that first gig. It was like, ‘Oh, my God, if we could only get out of this living room and then play our first show at Gilman.”
“That was the thing we had that we could call our own,” bassist Mike Dirnt added. “When people are playing music together at a young age, that may be all that they have, but that’s their emotional vessel. That’s their out.”
The film stars Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust as the teenage band, with Mckenna Grace, Fred Armisen, Jenna Fischer and Bobby Lee in supporting roles.
Meanwhile, Green Day have continued to be outspoken against Trump’s policies. When he was first elected, Armstrong blamed his rise on “uneducated white working-class people”. Green Day later admitted that Trump caused so much turmoil that they had to step away from writing about politics on 2020’s ‘Father Of All Motherfuckers’.
“For ‘Father Of All…’ we didn’t want to go political because it was so obvious,” Armstrong said at the time. “It was such low-hanging fruit because we had just terrible politics and terrible division in the United States.
“We got away from the politics for a while [because] we didn’t want to be like another pundit on CNN, finger-pointing,” he added. “But political songs… It takes a lot of heart to do that.”
The band eventually returned to their political songwriting on ‘Saviors‘, which NME hailed as “their best work since American Idiot”.
Armstrong would later hit out at Trump and billionaire Elon Musk at Download Festival 2025, proclaiming: “We are slipping into fascism. It’s up to us to fight back!”
He also criticised Trump for ICE’s invasion in Minnesota. During a show, he introduced the songs ‘Holiday’ and ‘Know Your Enemy’ by telling the crowd: “This song is anti-fascism. This song is anti-war. We stand up for our brothers and sisters in Minnesota… Ladies and gentlemen, Stephen Miller now has the floor.”
Stephen Miller is the Homeland Security Advisor who helped develop and oversee “the largest deportation operation in American history” (via Daily Mail).
The band were criticised for avoiding politics during their set at the Super Bowl opening ceremony.
Elsewhere, watch Green Day play ‘Basket Case’ on top of an ice cream truck at San Diego Comic-Con.
