--- title: Watch Johnny Rotten Defends Trump interview VIDEO description: The Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten (otherwise known as John Lydon) is defending Donald Trump and is even open to being friends with him. canonical: https://time.com/4714146/sex-pistols-johnny-rotten-on-trump/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-27T18:36:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:42:17.938Z og:title: 'He Terrifies Politicians' Johnny Rotten Defends Trump og:description: "He terrifies politicians and this is a joy to behold to me" og:url: https://time.com/4714146/sex-pistols-johnny-rotten-on-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'He Terrifies Politicians' Johnny Rotten Defends Trump twitter:description: "He terrifies politicians and this is a joy to behold to me" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 'He Terrifies Politicians and This Is Joy to Behold.' Watch Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten Defend Trump > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=915f64aa-b56f-4c2e-b02f-ee11e168019a&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 27, 2017 6:36 PM UTC  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 27, 2017 6:36 PM UTC While President Donald Trump has [his share of celebrity detractors](http://motto.time.com/4661009/chrissy-teigen-donald-trump-tweet/) in the past, [the Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten](http://business.time.com/2007/11/28/johnny%5Frotten%5Fanticommunist/) (otherwise known by his government name John Lydon) just defended the president and is even contemplating friendship with him. Lydon, [a punk pioneer](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919281,00.html) who memorably blasted Queen Elizabeth the British monarchy, calling it a “fascist regime” in the controversial song “God Save the Queen,” shared on _Good Morning Britain_ that while he finds Trump a “complicated fella” with whom he has “many, many problems with him as a human being,” he thinks the media has got him wrong. “What I dislike is the left-wing media in America are trying to smear the bloke as a racist, and that’s completely not true,” Lydon said. “There just might be a chance something good will come out of that situation, because he terrifies politicians and this is a joy to behold to me.” Lydon later revealed that a friendship with Trump wasn’t off the table either. “And dare I say, a possible friend? 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