Story highlights "(Trump) wants to replicate Russian oligarchy in America," Oberst told CNN

"Trump's so crazy he makes me nostalgic for George W.," he said

Washington (CNN) As public opposition to the Iraq War came to a boiling point more than a decade ago, Conor Oberst, who is most known for being the singer and songwriter from indie rock band Bright Eyes, was in the midst of the resistance, protesting the presidency of George W. Bush in his music and at shows.

But 12 years after the release of Bright Eyes' "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning," which opens with "At the Bottom of Everything" -- a melancholy and sentimental critique of American society and politics -- Oberst told CNN that President Donald Trump has set a bar so low that it has managed to make the musician "nostalgic" for the presidency of George W. Bush.

"Trump's so crazy he makes me nostalgic for George W." Conor Oberst

"Trump's so crazy he makes me nostalgic for George W.," Oberst told CNN's #GetPolitical when we caught up with him ahead of his show at the 9:30 Club in Washington. "If you can make me nostalgic for George W. you're doing a massive magic trick," he added.

Oberst, who backed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016, is a critic of the political establishment and mainstream media himself, but he said that he worries that by branding the press as "fake news," Trump is "brainwashing" his supporters into believing in a fact-free narrative.

"Our disregard for reality is scary. ... The thing that I find most upsetting about our current situation is that there's no consensus on reality," Oberst said. "Empirical evidence doesn't matter, facts don't matter. Nothing matters to these people. It's just this weird, cult personality. Everyone always compares (Trump) to a fascist strongman, but I don't think that that's far off, ... with his family and his businesses and stuff, he wants to replicate Russian oligarchy in America."