Famous rocker says he almost retracted support for US presidential candidate for being pro-Israel

Eric Clapton also defended Roger Waters, saying that people “misinterpret” his position on Israel.

By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner

Renowned British rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Eric Clapton said in a new interview that he nearly withdrew his support for US Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., commonly known as RFK Jr., because Kennedy was pro-Israel and deleted a tweet praising avid antisemite Roger Waters.

Clapton, 78, has several upcoming shows in the US, including a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Sept. 18 for RFK Jr., an attorney who is the nephew of former US President John F. Kennedy and the son of former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

During his guest appearance Monday on the YouTube channel “The Real Music Observer,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee — who also attempted but failed to make a large donation to Kennedy’s presidential campaign — said he almost pulled back from supporting the candidate and restated his defense of Waters.

“I found it difficult at one point when he retracted that tweet about Roger [Waters] because of Roger’s stance on the Middle East, on Israel-Palestine politics,” the “Wonderful Tonight” singer explained. “I was nearly going to pull out — I didn’t know if I really, honestly, support this when Robert said, ‘I’m pro-Israel and the family has always been pro-Israel.’”

In late May, Kennedy praised Waters on X, formerly known as Twitter, after the former Pink Floyd frontman faced backlash for his concert in Berlin, where he performed in what looked like a Nazi SS officer uniform. A projection that played during the concert also compared Holocaust victim Anne Frank to Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh — who was accidentally shot and killed last year while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank — and the show was deemed as “deeply offensive to Jewish people.”

Kennedy deleted his tweet soon afterward, clarifying in a follow-up post that he does not share the same views as Waters regarding Israel.

“I support Israel’s right to exist within secure borders and I also support the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people,” the presidential candidate wrote at the time.

Clapton said on “The Real Music Observer” that he ultimately decided to keep supporting Kennedy when the politician further explained his viewpoint on the Palestinian cause and why he deleted the tweet.

“Someone with a microphone cornered [Kennedy] and asked him, ‘What about Palestine?’ and he said, ‘I hope they get all that they aspire to.’ And I thought, oh, OK, he left a little caveat there,” Clapton added.

Earlier in the interview, Clapton said of Kennedy: “He’s genuine and intelligent, and he can debate.”

Clapton also defended Waters, saying that people “misinterpret” his position on Israel.

Watch Clapton’s guest appearance on “The Real Music Observer” in the video below.

2024 Presidential electionanti-Israel biasAntisemitismEric ClaptonRobert KennedyRoger Waters