Glen Matlock has shared praise for Kneecap, and hit out at the “weird” members of the punk community who have embraced Donald Trump – including his former Sex Pistols bandmate John Lydon.
The punk veteran shared the comments during a new appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today show, where he looked back at the origins of the scene and how Sex Pistols were born out of being “fed up with what was going on musically at the time”.
“There was a lot going on, as [there] is today”, he said, reflecting how the early days of the band and more recent years have seen “the rise of the far-right”.
“I think we were trying to navigate our way through that, somehow, and have a laugh, stir things up a little bit,” he added, before telling host Amol Rajan that he finds it is strange to see a growing number of punks supporting right-wing politicians. This comes after who John Lydon previously described the US president as “the Sex Pistols of politics”.
“There’s a lot of stuff these days I don’t understand about punk myself. It became a very broad church, a long way from the Sex Pistols to the Talking Heads and from The Slits to the Dolly Mixture, musically,” he said. “But also a lot of punk have got the wrong end of the stick, and maybe some progenitors of it did as well.”
“It is kind of weird these days. I’m constantly surprised by how many punks I see on my Facebook that are pro-Trump. It’s a bit weird,” he added.
Rajan went on to ask the Blondie bassist if he believes “rebellious” guitar music still exists today, to which Matlock replied he does, although thinks it is becoming less likely for the artists to get mainstream attention.
“I think the problem is that the media and the record companies have had so much practice over the years, shutting things out that are pushing [the boundaries] a little bit,” Matlock said. “And I think it’s become quite vacuous what we do get to hear on the radio,” he added, before going on to praise hip-hop group Kneecap as one of the few to break through while having that original punk mentality.
“Not all the time, but a few people do come through, even like the Kneecap people, whatever you feel about them, at least they are pushing it.”
The comments from the bassist come in contrast to those of former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon (AKA Johnny Rotten), who has shared praise for Trump in recent years.
Lydon – who now fronts Public Image Ltd. – not only described the president as the equivalent of the Sex Pistols when it comes to politics last year, but also said in 2017 that he thought meeting Nigel Farage as “fantastic” and said that he believed that Trump could be a “possible friend” of his. He later said of the US President: “I’ll never like him. I’ll vote for him, but that’s about it.”
Back in May, Lydon also hit out at Kneecap following their controversial live shows in which they speak out in support of Palestine – saying that the members “need a bloody good kneecapping”. The term references the form of physical punishment that inspired their band name.
Kneecap have responded to the positive comments from Matlock in the latest interview, and described the bass player as “way fucking sounder than Johnny Rotten”.
"Glen Matlock, 69, said Trump-supporting punks have forgotten the anti-fascist roots of the movement, and Kneecap are the some of the only true punks left."
Well Glen is way fucking sounder than Johnny Rotten anyway 💚🤍🧡 pic.twitter.com/lAq9ehfzgl
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) January 20, 2026
The comments about politics on Radio 4 follow on from Matlock speaking to NME at the end of 2024 about his solo album ‘Consequences Coming’, and how the title could be applicable to some politicians getting bad karma.
When asked about his feelings towards Trump being re-elected, Matlock said: “I’m surprised… but I think there will be a consequence coming with him, as well.”
“When [Boris] Johnson got in, all these people wrote to me, who tended to be Public Image [Ltd] fans: ‘Glen, don’t you realise that right is the new left and that’s where true rebellion lies?’ They’d been hoodwinked,” he added.
“They’re trying to make it like Putin in Russia, controlling everything and nobody really gets a say-so. I still stand by what I said on that record.”
He also spoke about what it was like to see Lydon speak out in support of Trump in recent years, sharing: “Way back when, there was something about John that I didn’t get on with because I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. And him coming out with that kind of encapsulates the whole thing, really.
“John was fantastic back then. He wrote some great lyrics, but did he really mean ‘em? Ah, that’s the thing. I never found him that sincere.”
Sex Pistols, who have been touring over the past two years with Frank Carter as frontman, are celebrating 50 years since they broke into the public eye later this year with some UK tour dates. Check out a list of upcoming shows here, and visit here to get tickets.
As for Kneecap, the trio have promised a “brand new album” as part of their “big plans” for 2026, and recently accused the UK government of wasting over £1million on the terror case raised against band member Mo Chara.
The lawsuit facing the Belfast rapper (real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh) was dropped last September due to a technicality relating to the way in which it was brought about. At the time, the Chief Magistrate told the court that the charge was “unlawful” and “null”.