The National Gets 'Hate Mail' On Facebook After Playing Obama Re-Election Rallies

The National Gets 'Hate Mail' For Playing Obama Re-Election Rallies

The band The National is again throwing their musical support behind President Obama's re-election campaign after performing at rallies during the President's 2008 campaign. But stepping back into the political arena has not come without a price for the band.

In an interview with Ohio State's The Lantern, the band's guitarist and keyboard player Aaron Dessner said they have been receiving "hate mail on Facebook." Still, they're standing by their political activism, stumping for the president at a GottaVote event in Columbus, Ohio, where they were helping students to register to vote Thursday.

Matt Berninger, the groups's lead singer, discussed the band's decision to get back into politics, despite the backlash they knew it could generate. Hailing from Cinncinati, Ohio, they are well aware of how important a role their home state could play in deciding the election. “This is more important than a rock band. I know we’ve gotten responses from people (who) don’t like the fact that we’ve taken a position on it, and I don’t actually think artists or musicians necessarily have a responsibility to do that. But in our case, the five of us … talked about it and we were like, 'Yeah, it’s worth it, for sure,'" Berringer told The Lantern.

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