Neil Young praised Barack Obama while calling out Trump for actively destroying natural resources and the environment.
President Donald Trump is a huge fan of Neil Young but the singer has made it clear that the feeling isn't mutual. Young, who recently became an American citizen, wrote a damning open letter slamming the US President, telling Trump, “You are a disgrace to my country.” Young referenced Donald Trump's frequent golfing to call him out. "The United States of America, my country, is not a green on one of your branded golf courses that you can ride around on and damage so that other players cannot shoot straight," wrote the singer on his website. He also added that America was going to vote him out in the 2020 Presidential elections.
The Rockin' In A Free World singer also called out the President's inaction with regard to the climate crisis. “Your mindless destruction of our shared natural resources, our environment, and our relationships with friends around the world is unforgivable. Your policies, decisions and short term thinking continue to exacerbate the Climate Crisis," wrote Young. Days after Trump hit out at Obama for taking credit for the recovery of the economy, Neil Young reminded the President that he preferred Obama to him. "Our first black president was a better man than you are,” said he. "Bragging about the US economy does not disguise the fact that the numbers today are what you inherited almost 4 Years ago."
Earlier this week, Trump had accused Obama of trying to take credit for the economy's growth over the past decade. Following the financial crash in 2008, Barack Obama started his Presidency with America facing one of the worst recessions in decades. Obama said the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act helped "pave the way for more than a decade of economic growth and the longest streak of job creation in American history." Trump, who always sees himself be compared to Obama, lashed out at the former President—claiming that he "had the weakest recovery since the Great Depression." He then went on to claim that he had to rebuild the military which was left depleted by Obama. Trump tweeted: Did you hear the latest con job? President Obama is now trying to take credit for the Economic Boom taking place under the Trump Administration.
Neil Young refused to blame Trump supporters for backing him in the 2016 elections, claiming that many of them were misled by Trump's lies. "I don't blame the people who voted for you. I support their right to express themselves, although they have been lied to, and in many cases believed the lies, they are true Americans. I have their back," wrote the singer-songwriter. Young also added that it bothered him that Trump was constantly using the singer's classic, Rockin’ in a Free World, at his rallies. While the singer has requested the President to refrain from using the song, he admitted that he had legal recourse to force him to stop.
“[It] is not a song you can trot out at one of your rallies. Perhaps you could have been a bass player and played in a rock & roll band. That way you could have been on stage at a rally every night in front of your fans if you were any good, and you might be …” wrote Young before adding, "Every time Rockin’ in the Free World or one of my songs is played at your rallies, I hope you hear my voice. Remember it is the voice of a tax-paying U.S. citizen who does not support you. Me.”
Trump is a huge fan of the singer. “He’s got something very special. I’ve listened to his music for years and I’ve seen him before that, but I went to the concert where they were honoring Bob Dylan years ago at Madison Square Garden, and Neil got up and totally brought the house down. There was nobody close. He’s performed for me at my casinos over the years, and he just brings it down. I’ve met him on occasions and he’s a terrific guy,” Trump told Rolling Stone Magazine. "I like all his songs, you know, ‘Rock & Roll’ — just great stuff.… Whatever the hell ‘it’ is, he’s got it.”
Neil Young also backed Bernie Sanders in the same letter. "One of your opponents has the answers I like. He is aiming at preserving our children’s future directly. He is not popular with the Democratic establishment because, unlike all the other candidates, he is not pandering to the industries accelerating Earth’s Climate Crisis, the end of the world as we know it. He is truly fighting for the USA. His initials are BS. Not his policies,” wrote Young.
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