When Did U2 Get So Political?

For some folks, yesterday's release by U2 of 'Days of Ash' was the first time they found out that U2 sometimes has a political message in their songs. Setting aside the obvious (Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride, Seconds, New Years Day, Mothers of the Disappeared, Bullet the Blue Sky, etc.), here's a few times in just the Trump era U2 have spoken up:

• During a 2017 performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Bono added new spoken-word lyrics to Bullet the Blue Sky (""Suit and tie comes up to me / Face orange as a rose on a thorn bush / Skin as thin as Orange Crush."" and "Ground shakes but the children can't weep / Vaporized in a single tweet / The emperor rises from his golden throne / Never knowing, never being known."

• At the iHeartRadio Festival in 2016, the band played "Desire" while featuring a video montage of Trump. Bono engaged in a mock dialogue with the footage, asking, "What is your vision?" and mocking Trump's plan to build a wall by yelling, "You're fired!"

• During a pre-taped performance for the 60th Grammy Awards, filmed on a barge in front of the Statue of Liberty, Bono used a bullhorn to shout: "Blessed are the shithole countries, for they gave us the American dream."
• The lyric video for 2018's "Get Out of Your Own Way" features plenty of political messaging and visuals.

• During the 2018 eXPERIENCE & iNNOCENCE Tour, U2 used Charlie Chaplin's speech from The Great Dictator as an intro to the concert overlaid with visuals making their opinion of war, dictatorships, and political power for control pretty clear.

There are countless other examples from their songs, music videos, and concerts where U2 has taken a stand politically that not everyone in the world necessarily agrees with. And that's completely ignoring all the work Bono has done on his own advocating for the poor around the world. If you're just becoming aware of it, please go dig deeper and discover why they've been so active in speaking up for and against causes. I find it admirable that they've used their platform and voice to advocate for things.