Julian Casablancas Leans Toward ‘Sports-Rooting’ for Kamala Harris-Tim Walz Ticket

Julian Casablancas hasn’t changed his mind on US politics since supporting Bernie Sanders in the 2020 presidential election.

The Strokes and The Voidz frontman Julian Casablancas has shared his thoughts on the upcoming US presidential election in a recent interview with NME.

Casablancas, who supported Bernie Sanders in the 2020 presidential election, was initially hesitant to share his opinion on the candidates when asked by the interviewer.

“I feel nothing, really,” he said. “I guess I’m kind of sports-rooting for the vice presidential [running mate] of Kamala Harris, [Tim] Walz. He seems like an honest, decent person. So just for him, I suppose I’ll be sports-rooting for that team more than the other team, but I think they’re both two sides of the same corporate coin.”

He continued, “Emotionally, a woman of color and all that — sure, let’s just get that out of the way and check that box so we can move forward. But, in terms of what people actually want, neither of the parties offer that — they just have a stranglehold on power.”

Casablancas has previously spoken out about his dissatisfaction with the two-party system and the lack of choice for voters. In a 2018 interview with Vulture, he said, “We’re essentially at war, a modern war against a calculator. I think corporations should thrive and we have a good system theoretically, but the problem is that it’s evolved without any sort of leash… Truth and human suffering are not part of the equation of corporate profit.”

A few years later, Casablancas praised Sanders as “the only truly non-corporate candidate” before The Strokes played his “Get Out the Vote Concert Rally.” During their performance, the group notably sang “New York City Cops,” a track criticizing New York City law enforcement.

In 2021, The Strokes held a concert in support of New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley, which Casablancas called a “once in a lifetime opportunity to help elevate an incredible person to a position of power where they can protect the public.” He continued, “We need to elect trustworthy people so when hard decisions need to be made behind closed doors, we know the people of NYC will be protected and in the best hands possible.”

Last month, Chappell Roan made similar comments about “problems on both sides” of the election in an interview with The Guardian. She followed up with a pair of statements on TikTok, the first of which clarified that she was encouraging people to “use critical thinking skills.” In her follow-up video, Roan said she was voting for Harris while emphasizing that “endorsing and voting are completely different.”

While Casablancas and Roan have given their reasons for not endorsing a candidate, many of their peers have come out in support of Harris, including Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, Megan Thee Stallion, Jason Isbell, and Bon Iver.

The Voidz recently dropped their third album, Like All Before You, on digital platforms, with the physical release coming on November 1st (pre-orders are ongoing). Later this month, they have a handful of album release shows in Los Angeles and New York City. Get tickets here.