Neil Young has had it with President Donald Trump, especially after the politician’s recent digs at Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift.
In a post on his website Tuesday (May 20), the “Heart of Gold” singer slammed Trump for being “out of control” with his comments about the Boss and “Fortnight” singer on Truth Social a few days prior. On the platform, the POTUS had called Springsteen “highly overrated” and “dumb as a rock,” while saying that Swift is “no longer ‘HOT.'”
“Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America,” Young wrote in response to the insults. “You worry about that instead of the dyin’ kids in Gaza. That’s your problem. I am not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us. You shut down FEMA when we needed it most. That’s your problem Trump. STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made.”
“Taylor Swift is right. So is Bruce,” the Canadian-American musician continued, referencing the Eras headliner and “Born in the U.S.A.” rock star’s history of opposing Trump’s policies. “You know how I feel. You are more worried about yourself than AMERICA. Wake up Trump.”
The post is far from the first time Young has criticized the president, calling Trump a “disgrace to my country” in a scathing 2020 open letter and later speaking out about his fear of being barred from re-entering the United States after his tour on the president’s orders. The “Old Man” artist’s latest takedown comes after Trump went on a roll with posts antagonizing musicians, starting with Swift on Friday (May 16). “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?’” he wrote on Truth Social.
He then turned his attention to Springsteen. Incensed by the E Street band leader’s prior comments in Manchester about Trump’s administration being “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous,” the latter wrote of Springsteen on Truth Social, “Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK.”
But that was just the tip of the iceberg. A few days later, Trump returned to Truth Social to once again slam Springsteen, this time accusing him — as well as Beyoncé, Bono and Oprah Winfrey — of taking part in an “illegal election scam” run by Kamala Harris. “HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? … WHAT ABOUT BEYONCÉ?” he wrote at the time.
“I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter,” the president continued Monday. “Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment.”
There is no record of Harris paying money to any of the artists who endorsed her, and her campaign has denied doing so. That didn’t stop Trump from perpetuating the unsubstantiated claim to the contrary through his posts, something Young sees as a distraction from what’s really important.
“You are forgetting your real job,” Young concluded his post on his website Tuesday. “You work for us. Wake up Republicans! This guy is out of control. We need a real president!!”