05/29/2026
Well well wellā¦ Check out this gem yāall!
Transcript of Hunter interviewed on community radio station KDNK in Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado in January 2003. Former KDNK Station Manager Mary Suma began by asking about his comment that the idea of war is not just wrong, but borders on insanity. Thompson responded:
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Of couse, it depends on which vantage point you look at the war from. If you are the president of a huge oil company, no, itās not insane at all. The war would be quite justified.
MARY SUMA: How do you feel ā Iāve read that you were in the streets in the Chicago riots back at that convention? Do you think that we can elicit that sort of passion as it builds? I mean, it really seems to be building up there, the anti-war faction.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Yeah, it does. But look at this. I donāt recall, anyway, a massive depression, economic collapse, at that time, 1968. I was going to say, "Do you?" but, uh... What we have now is a collapse of the economy and a totally unjustifiable war, irrational really, except from the point of view of the oil industry.
MARY SUMA: Did you watch the State of the Union the other evening?
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Oh, boy, I did.
MARY SUMA: What did you think?
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: I was horrified. It was a nightmare of a thing to go through. You know, he rattled off all these "pie in the sky" ideas in the beginning, none of which are going to either work or be funded. He knows that. As a matter of fact, the New York Times today said that already they see that even republicans are admitting that the Medicare ā- he was talking about the Medicare plan, the $400 billion plan -ā
MARY SUMA: Right.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Is impossible. Members of both parties expressed doubts about its feasibility today, forcing the administration officials to reconsider important elements of the package. So, none of the domestic issues he talked about are feasible. I donāt even think he can get the tax cut through, which is insane. Cut taxes in a time when the country is going broke. So over the line, I mean, itās not just the war thatās wrong. I canāt imagine any justification for just going over to Iraq and bombing the place back to the Stone Age like we did before.
MARY SUMA: Why does it seem a good portion of the country is buying into this?
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: That is a really ā thatās a disturbing aspect of it.
MARY SUMA: Can we believe the polls? I mean, certainly the applause the other evening, they always say that you can sort of gauge the popularity of a president by the applause at the State of the Union. I donāt know if thatās true or not. But it seems like weāre living in two separate countries.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Well, remember, that Bushās popularity and the popularity ā or the support for the war and two months ago when it was much higher. But these are just daily. These are things that change every day. But I remember writing in ā I donāt know, it might have been at least five years ago ā it was a, I think, ABC, some serious poll, several of them came up with the findings that the American people, overall, favor giving up some of their freedoms in exchange for more security.
MARY SUMA: Mm-hmm.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: They would rather be secure than free, in other words.
MARY SUMA: Right.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: That really is shocking.
MARY SUMA: It is shocking, and more so today, maybe.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Thatās the answer, I think, for your question is why is the public buying into it. Another reason is that the fear which I ā thatās why I tried to address or at least rave about in the book. Fear is an unhealthy condition, living in fear. And as we clearly have been for two years now, it makes the population more obedient, particularly if theyāre willing to give up their freedom for security. More obedient, more easier to control, and itās, well, it is very much like N**i Germany.
MARY SUMA: Mm-hmm.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Remember the old good German syndrome.
MARY SUMA: Mm-hmm.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: We used to ridicule it, the good Germans who just went along with it because thatās what the Fuehrer wanted.
MARY SUMA: Youāve said the president has destroyed the country, the economy and our relationship with the rest of the world.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Well, I believe thatās true and even the countries that allegedly go along or support us, our allies going into this war, popular opinion in most of those countries, I canāt say this for sure, but in England, certainly, the English people, as a whole, are strongly opposed to the war and to going along with whatever George Bush says. Democracy is on its last legs in this country, and freedom, you know, the Free World?
MARY SUMA: Mm-hmm.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Weāre defending freedom? Weāll fight to the death for freedom? Thatās absurd. This country is no more a capital or bastion of freedom now than N**i Germany was in the 1940s. This country is a rogue nation in a way, but worse than a rogue nation. Weāre a war-crazy, war-dependent, really, nation and that leads right to the oil industry. It is ridiculous. And particularly in the media; with the media I noticed. To not discuss the connection between oil and bombs in Iraq is disgraceful. Winston Churchill said, "In times of war, the first casualty is always the truth." Truth is the first casualty of any war.
MARY SUMA: In lieu of fear.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: You see, Iām a little bit cranked up and fanatical about it.
MARY SUMA: Thatās the age group, isnāt it, Hunter, that we want to really ā
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Yeah. This is ā I mean, if you want to live in a N**i nation, I wouldnāt want to be 20 years old now.
MARY SUMA: I wouldnāt either.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: I fear for whatās coming and for the welcoming committee of kids thatās going to meet it, saying come on in. No, itās just ignorance, and well, the media, weāre being deprived of the real news. Iām not going to try to say I have the real news, but just what you said. Thatās exactly right.
MARY SUMA: Again, youāre going to be at Pepkey Park on Saturday afternoon. Do you know what your topic is yet? We know the topic, but do you know what ā- can you give us any preview of whatās going to be said, or do you just stand up there and let it -ā
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Yeah. I usually just take a ā just wing it, freefall, just like I did today. I had no idea what I was going to say today. This is really a disgraceful moment in history and just thinking about the war, or attending the peace rallies, going out in the street, voting with your feet, as they say.
AMY GOODMAN: Hunter S. Thompson speaking with KDNKās Mary Suma in January of 2003. She then asked him about his book Kingdom of Fear: Loathesome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: It started off ā itās supposed to be a memoir; I think it started off as memoirs. You know, it just sort of ā a very quick and active story about how I got to be what I am today, you know, different key adventures in my life. Mainly it is fun. Yeah, I could use a little bit more editing, but everything could. Itās a fun read. Itās a very ā pretty savage one. And itās clearly, not anti-Bush, but anti-war. See, I donāt hate Bush personally. I used to know him. I used to do some drugs here and there.
MARY SUMA: Is that true, Hunter? What about, I didnāt know that you were an unofficial adviser to Jimmy Carter.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Yeah. Weird things happen here and there. I got to know him early, two years before he ran, and he just looked like a pretty good bet to me, because I was a gambler, and I wanted to win. It was important to win at that time.
ANITA THOMPSON: Evan Dobelle, who was, among other things, Carterās Secretary of Protocol, he held a dinner in Hawaii about two months ago and Hunter was a guest of honor and he stood up to say and thank Hunter because Jimmy Carter would not be president if it wasnāt for Hunter Thompson.
MARY SUMA: Really?
ANITA THOMPSON: Yeah. Isnāt that cool?
AMY GOODMAN: Anita and Hunter Thompson. Anita, Hunter Thompsonās wife, again, speaking with Mary Suma of KDNK in January of 2003. Finally, Mary Suma asked Hunter Thompson about his upcoming trip to New York.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: What Iām going to New York to do is stir up trouble. Iām not going to change hats, yeah, Saturday in the park, Sunday in New York City, Monday night, Conan OāBrian, or something like that. I just believe in this. Iām offended and insulted by the slope of the American people, and that means us. That means these bastards who just sit around ā
ANITA THOMPSON: Weāre getting there.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Letās keep hitting on this because I doubt that George Bush is going to go away before the next two years anyway. He should be run out of office. He should resign right now, in my opinion. I did call for his resignation, but I donāt think we would have a groundswell immediately for that. There will be a lot of people who agree with me.
MARY SUMA: Down the road?
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Well, no, in a year. I mean, the ā
MARY SUMA: Will we be at war in a year, Hunter?
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: I think so, without a doubt. Like I said, weāve been at war for 13 years. Weāve been bombing that country that long and weāve cut off everything, all their food, books, you know, close ā cut off all imports of books over there.
MARY SUMA: Have you ever been there?
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Excuse me?
MARY SUMA: Have you ever been over there?
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: I donāt think so. Not in any way that I was impressed by. I probably have gone through it or stopped there. I donāt really know Iraq. I made a point of getting to know it a lot better. It was a very advanced, progressive country, had, what, 90% literacy, health care for the whole entire population. They were doing well, prosperous, high literacy. Many more book stores per capita in Iraq than there are in this country. Many. No more. We bombed their children. We killed their husbands and wives and we bombed them, and we saw her, and weāre going to do it again. Just random killing like that, mass killing to force a population to get rid of Saddam so we can move in and take over and control the oil, God damn it, if thatās not evil, I donāt know what would be. You know, Bush, heās really the evil one in here. Well, more than just him. Weāre the N**is in this game, and I donāt like it. Iām embarrassed and Iām pi**ed off. Yeah. I mean to say something and I think a lot of people in this country agree with me. A lot more never say anything. Weāll see what happens to me if I get my head cut off in the next week by ā itās always unknown Bush [inaudible] strangers who commit su***de right afterward. No witnesses. They have a new kind of crime.
MARY SUMA: Is that the CIA kind of crime?
HUNTER S. THOMPSON: Oh, absolutely. Anyone whoās a successful criminal has got a crime. Absolutely no witnesses, no records. We can go on and on. I have to be restrained on the subject.
