So I see that the media is buying this "We delayed SOE because of Trump" nonsense at face value. Is anyone here? Given that most of us are knowledgable U2 fans, I'm guessing not.
I haven't looked through all the threads, but I'm assuming that most people here see this "Trump delay" thing for what it is...the record wasn't ready (of course it wasn't ready), and Trump presents an opportunistic excuse. They were already planning a 2017 tour, LN's pissed, hence this hastily put together Joshua Tree thing. Calling the Joshua Tree relevant or urgent because of the political climate also presents a convenient excuse. And less painful than falling off a bike. Though given the band's historical statements on doing this kind of nostalgia thing, perhaps not significantly so.
In other words, if you're actually buying any of this political excuse for all this, I've got a live tree in Death Valley to sell you.
That said, I'm more excited for this tour than I would have been a continuation of I+E. I'm interested to see how they stage the show, and of course the music is great. The Joshua Tree is arguably more relevant to more people than SOE could ever think about being, so if they want relevance, they've got it, at least a Sort of Relevance.