Winston Marshall is renowned as the British banjoist and lead guitarist of the rock band Mumford & Sons. As a true Londoner and a British rock star, Marshall has some unique viewpoints about the political situation in both the USA and the UK.
Marshall publicly expressed his perspective on Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. While Trump’s victory shocked many, Marshall saw it as a manifestation of the great political divide within the country. As he articulated, Trump’s win is not a mere win for a particular person, but rather a reflection of the opinions, beliefs, and frustrations of a significant portion of the American population.
Marshall doesn’t see Trump as an anomaly or mistake. Instead, he thinks Trump’s win was a reply to the ‘establishment’ or the ‘elite’, whom, according to Marshall, have lost touch with a large swath of Americans. He believes that there is a yearning amongst people to see overt, tangible changes and to break away from the typical political rhetoric, a desire that was instrumental in Trump’s win.
The same attitude applies to the political situation in his homeland, the UK. Marshall notes the parallel between Trump’s political rise in the US and the Brexit vote in the UK. He believes they both rose out of similar sentiments: a desire for change, a feeling of being unheard, and a distrust of the political status quo.
However, while Marshall acknowledges these sentiments, he is also careful to avoid picking sides. His primary concern
