Lars Ulrich criticises Trump’s US-Mexico wall: 'We need to bring people together'
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has expressed his disapproval of President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall between the US and Mexico.
Speaking to Mexico's Las Estrellas network, Lars said: “I don’t think the world needs any walls. I think we need to bring people together.”
He continued: “Metallica travels all over the world, and through music we try to bring people together. So whether we’re in Mexico or whether we’re in Asia or whether we’re in Europe or whatever, we encourage as many different people from as many different backgrounds to come together and share music and life and culture and all these experiences.”
“Being one Danish guy, being asked an opinion, I don’t think any walls are necessary, and I think that, increasingly, as far as Metallica traveling all over this beautiful planet, we break down barriers with music.”
Metallica have just completed a record-breaking three-night residency at the Foro Sol Stadium in Mexico City where they performed to almost 200,000 people.
> Muchas Gracias Mexico! 197,444 of you showed us so much love that we broke the record for the most people to attend three shows at Foro Sol! pic.twitter.com/EQUnZzFlan > > — Metallica (@Metallica) March 8, 2017
Before the US election last autumn, Lars joked to Denmark's Ekstra Bladet that he would consider returning to his homeland if Trump became President.
“If Trump becomes president and everything goes to s***, I might make my way to the airport and ask if I can get back in again," he said.
Bandmate Kirk Hammett also isn’t a fan of the President. In January, he posted 16 tweets in just 12 minutes in the wake of the Trump’s inaugural address calling on Americans to “reject the carnage” of his administration.
The impassioned posts saw Kirk compare Trump’s rhetoric to 1930s Germany, accuse him of spreading lies and wanting to divide the country, hit out at the Alt-Right movement calling it a “sneaky euphemism for white supremacy”, and slam the administration for being “earth killers” and climate change deniers.
James Hetfield told the BBC last November that Metallica don’t talk about politics in their music as "that just seems to polarize people even more.”
He added: “We all have our own beliefs, but at the end of the day, we're trying to connect with people and it seems like political views don't do that as much as music does."