EVANESCENCE‘s Amy Lee has criticized President Donald Trump for continuing to downplay the severity of the coronavirus, saying that we need a leader “who accepts that it is real and it is killing people.”
Earlier today, Lee took to her Instagram to share the following message: “For anybody out there who hasn’t voted yet, for anybody who isn’t motivated enough or feels like one voice doesn’t matter: we need you. We need to heal. We cannot defeat this virus without a leader who accepts that it is real and it is killing people. Nearly 1/4 million of us have died and it’s not going away by ignoring it. We are better than this. It’s time to move forward together in reality. In truth. We desperately need change. Every voice counts. Use yours!”
Trump has repeatedly downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and often contradicted public health experts and members of his own administration about the dangers of the virus.
Thousands of Trump supporters regularly attend his campaign rallies around the country, many of them held in defiance of crowd restrictions designed to stop the virus from spreading.
Some states have fined venues that host Trump rallies for violating caps on crowd size.
On Thursday, Trump one again downplayed the virus at a rally in Florida, telling people that if they got infected with the virus they would “get better,” just as he did. He also said he would not shut down the country again.
“We’re never going to lock down again…. We’re open for business,” Trump said.
Trump‘s Democratic rival Joe Biden criticized the president and vowed to bring responsible leadership to the U.S. after months of the White House downplaying the virus’s danger.
“I’m not going to shut down the economy, I’m not going to shut down the country. I’m going to shut down the virus,” Biden said at his “drive-in” rally in Florida on Thursday.
Last May, Lee said that she was ” angry, horrified” and “ashamed” over the murder of George Floyd in police custody as well as President Donald Trump‘s response to the subsequent protests and riots.
Just three months earlier, Lee opened up about her political views for the first time, explaining that she couldn’t “stand by” and keep her mouth shut while her “country’s freedom is taken away.” He decision to speak out was apparently prompted by the GOP-controlled Senate’s vote to acquit Trump on both articles of impeachment without calling witnesses.
She wrote at the time: “I do not accept lying, cheating or bullying from my government… Accepting this abuse says it’s okay for our leaders to lie to us, cheat on us, make decisions without our input, and silence us when we try to speak up. This isn’t about your policies or beliefs, it’s about our freedom.”
Lee added: “I will never bow down to a dictator.”
In August, EVANESCENCE released a new single, “Use My Voice”, which was written to celebrate the power of speaking out in order to promote more justice in the world. The track, featuring contributions from THE PRETTY RECKLESS‘s Taylor Momsen and HALESTORM‘s Lzzy Hale, was chosen by HeadCount in the USA to encourage voters to register, check their registration, or find out about their remote voting options amid the COVID-19 pandemic at UseMyVoice.org.
