Neil Young fan Donald Trump won't be happy to read Neil Young's open letter bashing him
Despite living in the U.S. for more than half a century, Canadian Neil Young only received American citizenship last month. Now, in commemoration, Young has just published an open letter, available on the Neil Young Archives, that properly celebrates his new status by writing about how much he hates his president, noted Neil Young fan Donald Trump.
The letter goes about as you’d expect, especially if you’ve read Young’s previous remarks on Trump following the 2018 California wildfires or his thoughts on the president using the gloriously inappropriate “Rockin’ In The Free World” for his events. “You are a disgrace to my country,” it begins before continuing to call Trump’s policies “unforgivable” and telling him that he “[hopes] you hear my voice” and “remember that it is the voice of a tax-paying U.S. citizen who does not support you” when listening to Young’s songs at rallies.
What makes this last line really work is the knowledge, mentioned in Rolling Stone’s article about Young’s letter, that Trump is a big fan of Young’s music. A 2008 piece from the website describes seeing Trump attending a number of Young’s shows and contains interview quotes where the president praises Young as having “something very special” and being “a terrific guy” whose music he’s listened to “for years.” Trump continues to gush about Young, saying that, though he “[likes] the older stuff better,” the artist’s entire body of work is “sort of all my favorite.”
“His voice is perfect and haunting,” Trump says. “Whatever the hell ‘it’ is, he’s got it.”
Read Young’s entire open letter for yourself with this in mind. Or just poke around the rest of the Archives, enjoying any of Young’s music with the knowledge that you’re able to do so without having to know that the man you’re hearing hates your guts. In case you’re curious, the letter also reveals who Young supports in this year’s elections: “One of your opponents has the answers I like … He is truly fighting for the U.S.A. His initials are B.S. Not his policies.”
[via Rolling Stone]
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